The Dance of the Cherry Blossoms
by Blahdeedah
Summary: “Let me tell you a story about Gods, evil schemes, wars, geishas...and of a love so powerful that it overcame the wars, evil schemes, and even the Gods." GaaSaku.
1. Prologue

**Alrighty you guys!  
This is my very first fanfic, so I am inexperienced :(  
Still, I hope you guys like it, and I'm always open to suggestions!**

**Oh! By the way...the first two chapies are sorta slow, but they're there to build background info,  
so PLEASE!! just bear with me**

**:D

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Such a fire had never been before. The flames licked at the trees and houses until there was nothing but black ashes and thick smokes surrounding the village.

The people scrambled for cover or a means to escape, but no one was safe.

Families who were trapped inside the protection of their own homes were burned alive, and the people who escaped were later caught and consumed by the ever advancing fires.

Everywhere there was death, everywhere, except for the well.

Although anyone would see that this well was just an ordinary well, and no one paid attention to it as they ran for their lives, but this well was indeed a very special well.

No one heard the shrill cries of a baby which came from the well above the shrieks of the burning people.

To them, there was no more hope. To them, their life would end in this fire. But to a certain someone, their life was just beginning.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

A blond haired woman stood in the centre of what would have been the village square.

Soot and ashes were all over the ground, and the remains of the village corpses were being piled up to be taken care of.

There was just too many to give all of them a proper burial.

The fire had been put out for a good hour now, and the only remains of it were the smokes that drifted solemnly toward the blue sky.

The woman absorbed her surroundings, and sighed.

"What a day, I can't believe that this keeps happening." The blond woman let her head hang, so her hair drooped over her shoulders and across her face.

She sighed again, unable to believe what had happened.

"Lady Tsunade!" The woman turned her head toward the voice to find a ninja at her command.

"What is it?" Tsunade was a bit annoyed with this ninja, a tad too loud for her liking, especially this early in the morning.

The ninja reported that the site was cleared for "Operation Fire", which meant that there was no one else left alive in the village.

Tsunade gave the orders to clear out and carry out their duties. The ninja nodded and left to holler out the orders to the rest of the ninjas.

Tsunade took one last look at what was left of the village, and mounted her house.

She pulled the reins, instructing the horse to leave, but the horse didn't budge.

Tsunade scowled, she was never too fond of animals. Just then, Tsunade froze.

Maybe it was just her imagination, but she could have sworn that she just heard someone crying.

"Screaming is more like it." Tsunade thought to herself.

There, she heard it again. So it wasn't her imagination after all.

She dismounted her horse and crept closer to whatever was making that noise.

A ninja inquired what she was doing, but Tsunade just shushed him with an annoyed flick of her hand.

Tsunade walked faster now, for she was sure that someone was crying.

Eventually, the cries lead her to the village well.

"The well?" Tsunade thought curiously to herself, and then prepared herself into a fighting stance.

"It had better not be some water demon; I have no time for such a nuisance."

Yet a part of her knew that it wasn't a water demon, a part of her knew that it was something far more precious.

Tsunade stretched her neck so that her head just brimmed the edge of the well.

The light made by the sunlight on the waters danced playfully around the well's walls, and inside, was a straw basket.

Tsunade gasped when she saw that there was a baby in the basket, crying its poor little eyes out.

Her maternity instincts instantly took over, and she brought down her hands to bring the crying baby out of the well.

Most everyone was around the well now, to see what the commotion was all about, and they where all very surprised to see Tsunade take a baby out of the well and into her arms.

The baby's crying almost immediately seized as the baby felt the warmth of another human being upon its cheeks.

Tsunade was speechless and stared wide-eyed at the now sleeping baby in her arms.

For the first time, Tsunade took in the appearance of the baby. It was a girl; that much she could tell. Also, the baby had the loveliest pink hair Tsunade had ever seen.

"What a beauty," Tsunade gazed, she never had a child of her own, and it looks like this would be the perfect time to have one, or to find one, in this case.

The ninjas surrounding her didn't even need to ask Tsunade to know that she was going to keep the child; the look on her face said it all.

"What are you going to name her?"

Tsunade's gaze never left the baby's face as she deliberated on what name she could give this little blossom.

She didn't want the child to know anything about her dreadful past, so naming her something like "found in a well" or "spared by the fire" was out of the question.

Then a light clicked open in her mind as she thought about the baby's beautiful pink hair.

Tsunade smiled lovingly at the little rosy child, and blessed her with all her heart.

"You will be called Sakura, for you will always be the cherry blossom of my heart."


	2. Chapter 1

**...**

**...**

**...hi!**

**: D**

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"Please, please, please!"

The cries and pleas of a certain eight years old girl echoed through the halls. She jumped up and down, tugging at her father's sleeve as she did so.

"Please let me go to the festival, I wanna go see the dancers!"

Her father shook his head, explaining to his young daughter how a noblewoman can never leave the protection of the noble house's walls. The pink haired girl continued to whine.

"But I've never even been outside the wall! Please let me go!"

The father gently patted his daughter's pink head, and told her yet again that the outside world was no place for a nobleman's daughter. Then the father left, leaving the daughter to mop and cry over her rejection.

She dragged her feet into the garden where she let her sobs and tears come freely. Just then, a bush behind the girl rustled. She turned around to find a blond head poke out of the bushes. The boy had dazzling blue eyes and whiskers on his face. He bore a worried expression.

"What's wrong, Milady?"

The girl stood there and rubbed her eyes. "Father won't let me go to the festival."

The blond tilted his head and replied. "Well of course. The festival is no place for Milady."

The girl stomped her foot childishly and fumed. "But I've never been outside the wall even once! I wanna go outside!"

The blond stared at her, looking dumbfounded. "You've…never been outside? Not even once?"

Seeing that there was pity inside the boy's eyes, the little girl took advantage. "What's your name?"

The boy dropped his head and mumbled. "My name's Naruto, I'm a servant here."

The girl smiled and pulled Naruto out of the bushes. "My name is Sakura. And I am your master's daughter. So you have to do what I tell you to do."

Naruto seemed astounded. "No, no." He shook his hands in front of his face. "I have to do what your father tells me to do, not what you tell me to do."

Sakura pouted her lips. "Please! Take me outside!"

Naruto seemed very hesitant, and looked like he was trapped.

"I'll cry if you don't take me!"

Finally, after a few minutes of arguing, Naruto agreed to take Sakura outside the wall to see the festival.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

By now, the stars were already shinning in the night sky, and the noble's household had been asleep for a good hour. But two tiny shadows slipped away into the night.

The festival was wonderful.

Colourful lanterns were hung up everywhere. There was steaming food and candy, and performers in festive costumes waved around bright flags and streamers.

People flooded the streets, and in the crowd, there were two kids. One was named Naruto, who carried a girl on his back named Sakura.

Both children were having a grand time, it was easy sneaking out the wall, and now they were having the time of their lives.

While admiring the flashy dancers, Naruto claimed that he was tired of carrying Sakura, so he put her down on the ground.

"Your really strong, Naruto." Sakura mused, clearly having a good time.

Naruto grinned; the grin seemed to fit him. "I had to carry a lot of heavy things when I was smaller."

Sakura frowned. "Are you saying that I'm heavy?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the thought of Sakura being heavy. "No, no. I was just saying that I was trained to be strong ever since I was little."

Sakura smiled. "How old are you, Naruto?"

"Nine."

Sakura giggled. "Your only one year older than I am, that's not much of a difference at all."

Naruto grinned, he had a sneaking suspicion that he had just made a friend.

Just then, a big man with a pop belly bumped into the pair, throwing Sakura to the ground and flinging Naruto into the sea of people. Getting up without brushing herself off, Sakura screamed for Naruto and frantically searched the crowd, but she couldn't see the blond anywhere.

Sakura was getting scared; she felt the tightening grip of anxiety squeeze her little pounding heart as she ran down the street, hoping to see the speck of Naruto's blond hair or blue eyes in the crowd.

But she didn't find him.

Reaching the end of the road, she let her tears drip down her chin as she quivered in the chilly air. Crouching down and wrapping her arms around her legs, she rocked back and forth on her heels.

She was lost and alone.

"Why so sad?"

Sakura's head snapped up, hoping to see Naruto's ridiculous grin, but instead she saw someone else.

In the dim moonlight, she could still make out that a redhead was crouching beside her. His green eyes gleamed in the darkness.

He smiled kindly. "Are you hurt?"

Sakura couldn't help herself; she broke into tears and flung herself over the stranger. She could feel the stranger gasp and freeze at the sudden action, but slowly he recovered and coaxed the girl not to cry anymore. He patted her head gently and whispered.

"What's your name?"

Sakura sniffed. "Sakura."

The redhead smiled. "Well, Sakura. How would you like to go home?"

Sakura looked up with hopeful eyes. "Would I ever!"

The redhead chuckled, and then picked Sakura up in his arms. Sakura felt so comfortable and warm in his arms that she slowly drifted off to sleep. Her eyelids closed before she saw whirls of sand encircle them.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Hey, Sakura. Wake up." The redhead shook the sleeping girl in his arms. "You're home." He whispered.

At the mention of home, Sakura's eyes snapped open, making the redhead smile.

"So soon?" Sakura rubbed her eyes sleepily. Looking down, she saw that they were on a hill, in the protection of a big tree's shadows. The full moon glowed mysteriously, making everything else seem very dark. Looking down again, Sakura could see that they were looking down on her house.

"Home!" Sakura cheered, and sprung down from the boy's arms.

Sakura sprinted down the hill until she reached the front door. She was about to go in when she realized that she didn't even thank the stranger.

Turning around, she still saw the pair of green eyes watching protectively over her on the hill. Sakura smiled and waved. Even in the dim moonlight, Sakura could see the redhead smile, making his eyes twinkle, before a whirlwind of sand enveloped him.

Wisps of sand were left where he stood. Sakura blinked, unable to believe her eyes, so she decided that it was all probably a dream. After all, a person just cant disappear in a whirl of sand. Sakura turned and opened the door, the moment she stepped in, she heard yelling coming from the inner courtyard.

"You fool! You idiot son of a bastard!" Sakura recognized this voice to be her father's. The next sound she heard was the crack of a whip, followed by the whimpers of a boy.

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped, and sped into the inner courtyard. She threw open the door to find Naruto kneeling on the ground, and her father whipping him mercilessly. The household's servants and family were all crowded around the scene, cringing at the sound of the whip.

Sakura's tears overflowed onto her face as she raced toward her father.

"Father! Stop! Please!" At the sound of his daughter's voice, Sakura's father lowered his whip as an astounded yet relieved expression washed over his face. Sakura ran in between her father and Naruto, spreading her arms wide.

"It's not his fault! I requested him to take me outside, it's not his fault!" Sakura sobbed and sobbed. She couldn't bear to see her new, not to mention only, friend getting hurt because of her.

"Please forgive him father! It was all my fault! Whip me instead!" Sakura's father seemed positively aghast at the thought of him whipping his own child. Just then, a blond haired woman pushed through the crowd of people.

"Sakura!"

The woman flung herself around the little girl and cried. "I thought you were gone forever!"

"I'm ok, mother. I'm ok."

A bunch of servants then came to attend on Sakura and her mother.

"Lady Tsunade, please let go of your daughter. She needs to go inside." One of the servants urged. Tsunade pushed the servant away.

"No one is taking me away from my daughter!" She screeched, clearly overwhelmed by the idea that she might loose her again. But it was Sakura who brushed her off.

"Mother, please. I need to help someone."

Tsunade looked at her with puppy eyes and sniffed. "What about me? You need to help me too."

Sakura pouted. "Mother, you're not hurt! Naruto is!"

At the mention of his name, Naruto groaned. Sakura turned around to find the boy holding several of his cuts, still kneeling on the ground.

Sakura went to his aid immediately. She brought the boy into her own room, even though everyone objected, and tended to his wounds.

Tsunade and Sakura's father urged Sakura to get some sleep and that the servants would take care of Naruto. But Sakura insisted that she take care of him, since it was her fault that Naruto was hurt.

She cleaned and bound the cuts in silence, and Naruto put on a brave face and pretended that it didn't hurt. Finally, the cuts were all bandaged, and Sakura sighed.

"I'm so sorry Naruto." Sakura whispered, Naruto probably won't even speak to her now, and that made her sad.

"Don't worry about it, Milady." Sakura looked up to see the boy grin his grin again. She was glad to see that smile. "Besides, you were willing to take the whip for me." He attempted to move, but then cringed as the cuts were not healed yet.

Sakura smiled. "Call me Sakura."

Naruto looked at her, wide eyed. "But you're the nobleman's daughter. I'm just a lowly servant here."

Sakura smiled again. "Promise me you'll always call me Sakura."

Naruto was about to object when Sakura repeated again. "Promise me."

Admitting defeat, Naruto nodded his head.

It was late at night when the two kids fell asleep with their heads leaned against each other, dreaming the sweetest of dreams.

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**Hey hey hey! I figured out the line thing! Okey, well, I'm pretty new to this, so if you have any suggestions and tips...I'd be more then glad to accept them!**

**btw: I know that there's a lot of Naruto in this, but don't worry, Gaara will come in soon! (Well, he has, it's just that you'll see more of him) ****If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me!**

**I WUV reviews! I know that you know that I know that reviewing will make you feel wuved, because you are, by MOI!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hello! I got this question so I shall answer it! When Gaara saved Sakura, he was ten, and Sakura was eight. Naruto's nine. And thank you for the reviews, but I still want more! I read this somewhere in a fanfic so I'm gonna copy them: If I don't get at least 5 helpful reviews, then I won't continue with the story! O.o Well, I will, but it would still be nice. So thanks, and on with the story! Btw: This chapter is really traumatic for Sakura, so bear with me, or her rather. XP**

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Sakura still remembered that day eight years ago, the day when she had tasted the outside world for the first time.

She could still picture it like it was yesterday.

Sakura sighed; much has changed in eight years. Sakura's father had just recently past away, and as is tradition, the government took most of the money because females don't inherit anything.

That's why Sakura's getting married.

The only way her family isn't going to end up in the streets is if their sixteen years old daughter married a rich man.

So of course, Sakura had no say in the matter. She wasn't shocked by this decision either, since saw it coming a long time ago. Shes also accepted the fact that women in the world of men are good for nothing but carrying their babies.

Sakura sighed, she knew that she was capable of so much more, but for the sake of her family, she'll do it.

Sakura was currently practicing her calligraphy.

Her hands flowed elegantly as she moved the brush in her hand across the thin rice paper; the words she wrote looked as graceful as flowing water.

She had to admit it; Sakura had talent in the art of writing, not to mention poetry, drawing, singing, and dancing, especially dancing. She has talent like no other, and she wasn't afraid to show it.

But being a wife, she wouldn't be able to show off her skills and talent, all she was expected to do was bear sons and mind the home. Sighing again, Sakura put the brush down and got up. She needed to talk to someone, but whom? Sakura smiled, she knew exactly who.

Sliding open the wood and paper door, Sakura stepped into the open hall and looked out into the garden.

The cherry blossoms where blooming beautifully again this year, and in the midst of it all, she saw a certain blond haired boy cleaning out the pond. Smiling mischievously, Sakura tip toed over to where the boy was, and then, sucking in her breath, she went in for the assault.

"BOO!" Sakura pushed Naruto so hard that he actually fell into the pond, but not before she heard him scream the shrillest scream she had ever heard in her entire life. Sakura covered her mouth with one hand, and tried very hard not to lose her head.

But she couldn't help it. When she saw that Naruto's clothes were all drenched, and his hair was all soaked, with bits of seaweed in it, Sakura burst out laughing. She clutched her stomach and tried to control herself as she managed to puff out in between the giggles.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto!" Sakura laughed again as an angry scowl came across Naruto's face. "I didn't mean to push you that hard!"

Naruto couldn't help it either; he could never stay mad at Sakura for too long, and before you know it, Naruto had his infamous grin back on his face.

"Well, at least the pond's clean now." Naruto grinned. Sakura smiled, she was glad to have a friend like Naruto. But she had come to talk, not to fool around.

"I need to talk to you, Naruto."

Naruto immediately perked up, and sat up straight in the pond, ready to listen. Sakura giggled.

"Would you mind getting out of the pond? I can't take you seriously in there."

Ginning yet again, Naruto gingerly stepped out of the water and sat down on the ground, shaking out the water in his hair while he was at it.

Sakura put up her hands in protest from the pond water, and then proceeded to dust off her kimono. Sakura looked at the scar on Naruto's right hand, and thought back to the time he had taken a whipping from her father. Finally settling down, Sakura continued.

"Naruto, I don't want to get married." This was one thing that Sakura liked about Naruto, she could be very forward with him, and he wouldn't mind or be taken off guard. Naruto nodded.

"Well, everyone knows that. Name one person who would want to marry a man they've never met before."

Sakura sighed. "But if I don't marry this guy, then my family…" Trailing off, Sakura began to draw circles on the ground with her finger. Naruto appeared to be deep in thought, and then he answered cautiously.

"I know it would be hard for your family, but why don't they just sell their property. This place is big enough to sell for them to live two comfortable lifetimes."

Sakura looked up with hopeless eyes. "Mother would never allow that, she's attached to this place."

Now it was Naruto's turn to sigh. "It's either sell the property, or sell the daughter."

Sakura nodded, she knew what she had to do, but she was still reluctant on doing it. "There must be another way."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Go and talk to your mother."

Naruto's advice still echoed through Sakura's head as she trudged down the hall toward her mother's private quarters.

Upon arriving, she breathed in before timidly knocking on her mother's door. Half of her wished she would answer the knock, another half wished she wouldn't.

Sakura got half her wish. No one answered the door, but it was slightly ajar, so Sakura let herself in.

The room was stuffy and dark, so Sakura pulled back the blinds and drapes to reveal a very musty and messy room.

Books and files where piled everywhere, while empty sake bottles littered the floor. Sakura sighed; her mother was getting back into her habit of drinking…again.

With nothing else to do, Sakura decided she would help her mother out by cleaning her room.

While picking up the empty sake bottles, Sakura accidentally knocked over a pile of books. A gust of dust where blown into the air, making Sakura cough uncontrollably.

When her coughing seized, Sakura stepped back to examine the mess she had created.

It was a big mess.

Sighing and silently cursing her clumsiness, Sakura knelt down and started to pick up the books. But when she picked up the books, pages of paper flooded out of the books and were left splattered across the floor.

Sakura stamped her foot, the more she tried to help, the messier it got!

Sakura looked grudgingly at the papers on the floor, she was trying to fathom if anything else could fall out this time. When she decided that it was safe for her to clean again, Sakura began to pick up the pieces of paper.

Filing them into a neat pile, Sakura glimpsed at the paper in front of her. She did it by accident, and she didn't mean to pry, but something had caught her attention. On this sheet of paper, she saw her name.

_**Name Given:**__ Sakura_

_**Guardian:**__ Tsunade_

_**Gender:**__ Female_

_**Age:**__ Few weeks_

_**Hair Colour:**__ Pink_

_**Eyes Colour**__: Green_

_**Location Found:**__ Kikowood Village_

"Location found?" Sakura thought to herself, she had never been lost before, except that time when she had snuck out, but she had never been to a place called Kikowood Village. Sakura read on.

_**Reason for Family's Death:**_

_Died in "Freak Forest Fire"_

Sakura's heart froze, only to have it catch up to its missed beats by pounding frantically in her chest.

_**Reason for family's death: **_Sakura's eyes drilled through those words. What did it mean by 'reason for family's death'? Sakura's family wasn't dead, except for her father, who had just died recently.

Sakura's head spun dizzily, she didn't know what was going on.

Just then, a creak snapped her back to reality. She whirled around to find her mother, a sake bottle in her hand, standing at the door, a look of pure horror on her face.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Sakura was dazed.

Sakura couldn't believe it.

Sakura wouldn't believe it.

Sakura was standing in her room by her window, staring out at the full moon in the crisp night sky.

Normally she would have admired at the moon's beauty, but tonight was different. Tonight she had just been told that her life, everything in it, all she's ever thought and been told, was a lie.

She stared at the moon but didn't see the moon, she was flooded was so many different emotions.

Sadness.

Hurt.

Emptiness.

And Hopelessness.

Sakura felt so lost, and alone. She didn't know who to turn to.

Letting a single tear glide down her cheek, Sakura thought back to what her mother, or Tsunade rather, had told her earlier that day.

She was told that she was found, in a village called Kikowood. The village didn't exist anymore, because it was burned down by a freak forest fire.

The only reason she had survived was because she was put in a basket afloat in a well. Tsunade was a rescue ninja at that time, and she had happened to come across Sakura by following her cries.

Tsunade and her husband didn't have any children of their own, so they decided to keep this child.

Sakura felt a stabbing pain in her heart, how was she going to get through this? Sakura's feet suddenly started to move. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care, and let her feet carry her away, away from her troubles, away from her pain, away from her life.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

A group of ninjas waited silently in the shadows, they had been prepared for hours now, but they still had to wait for it to get darker.

Finally, it was time.

The lead ninja motioned with his hands to proceed forward, and the group did as they were told.

Not one of them made a sound.

No ruffle of clothes or shuffling of feet.

Nothing was heard.

They blended in with the shadows almost like they _were_ the shadows.

Finally, they reached their destination, a noblemen's house.

The group surrounded one wall, and then did a multitude of hand signs. They were all so concentrated on their task at hand, that they didn't notice a solitary silhouette walk out of the gates.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Sakura climbed up the hill toward where the big tree stood. She sat down on its roots and faced the town that was below.

It didn't seem to thrill her that she was outside once again, for the second time in her life. It seemed that Sakura no longer cared.

Lights and sounds came from the town, and people were bustling around in the streets, totally oblivious of a pink haired girl's distress.

Sakura wished that she could disappear, and enter a world where there was no more pain.

Suddenly, Sakura remembered that this tree was of significance. A redhead had once brought her here when she was lost eight years ago, and then he disappeared in a cloud of sand.

Closing her eyes, Sakura drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a redhead.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Sakura was awoken by screams and shouts.

She snapped her eyes open and looked around frantically; all she saw was smoke, lots and lots of thick grey smoke.

Sakura started coughing, and then heard the screams and shouts again.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she turned around and poked her head out of the protection of the tree, she wished she hadn't.

Her house, the gardens, everything in her home was on fire.

The flames roared and lashed out at anyone who got too close, and refused to be put out.

Tons of men from the town below were desperately pouring water onto the noblemen's house, but it was no use. The fire was far too great for anyone to kill.

Sakura's mind instantly snapped to the people in the house, the people she held dear to her heart.

_Tsunade. Naruto. _

Sakura gasped and clambered up from her spot, this quick action ripped Sakura's kimono, but she didn't care.

She raced down the hill toward her burning house, and pushed through the crowd of people that were gathered there to watch the show.

Finally breaking through, she raced toward the entrance when a couple of men stopped her.

"Lady Sakura! Stop! It's too dangerous for you here!" Several townsmen repeated the same thing, but Sakura still didn't care.

If her loved ones were in danger, then she didn't care about anything, least of all her own life.

She managed to break free from one of the men's grip and then bit the other person who was holding her. The man yelped and jumped back, giving Sakura a clear path into her house.

Sakura sprung into the flames, not even thinking about what she was doing. Once she was inside, she looked around madly for any signs of life, but the only thing that was moving was the ever dancing flames that encircled Sakura.

"Mother! Naruto!" Sakura screamed into the air, making her cough even more from the smoke.

The fires were advancing on her, so she jumped away and found that she was now in the garden. Her eyes widened as she saw that her once beautiful cherry blossom garden was now showered in flames.

Her eyes were brimmed with tears as she looked on at the horrific scene, what was happening?

"Mother, please answer me! Naruto, where are you?"

Sakura couldn't do it anymore; she knelt down on the ground in defeat and sobbed, looking at her fiery cherry blossom tress in distress.

"Mother….Naruto….where are you?" Sakura sobbed, she wouldn't believe it.

They CAN'T be gone.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder.

Sakura gasped and whirled around.

"Naruto?" Her voice full of renewed hope.

But Sakura most definitely did not expect to see who she saw now.

It was the redhead from her dream.

She stared on in disbelief, unable to grasp the fact that he was actually here, after eight years, here, of all places.

But the redhead didn't seem shocked to see Sakura here, well, maybe a little, but mostly, he looked angry.

"What do you think you're doing? Get up!" He yelled over the cracks of the flames. Sakura coughed, the smoke was getting worse.

"No! I can't! Not without my mother and Naruto!" Sakura was crying again, she couldn't control it.

The redhead seemed devastated, and pleaded with the girl. "Please, we need to get out of here now!"

"No!"

The redhead sighed and grabbed Sakura by her arms and pulled her to her feet. Sakura struggled to get away from the redhead.

"Leave me be! I won't go anywhere without them! Go away!" Sakura managed to break free, so she took the chance to sprint for the house.

This wasn't a very smart move, seeing how the house was on fire.

When she stepped onto the hallway platform, she heard of loud crack.

She looked up to see a huge piece of flaming railing fall down toward her.

Sakura couldn't move fast enough, but she didn't have too.

She felt someone push her up against a wall, and a split second later, she heard the loud crack of wood falling against the floor.

Sakura looked up to see the redhead standing protectively over her, his arms at each side of her.

His sudden closeness brought upon her a strange feeling that she wasn't familiar with, but it also brought her the feeling of protection.

"You idiot! Are you trying to get killed?" He panted; worry seeping through his voice and face.

He was about to scold her further but then stopped when he saw that Sakura was crying. She wasn't sobbing or anything like that, but the tears dripped freely from her eyes, her expression sad and pained.

"I've lost everything. So why shouldn't I die along with everything else? There's no reason for me to live anymore!"

The redhead looked down at her with a pained expression, and then brushed her tears away from her face.

Without another word, the redhead embraced Sakura. Sakura was glad for the comfort, and returned the gesture, letting her tears drip on his shoulder.

Sakura looked one last time at her flaming cherry blossoms before the familiar golden sand cloaked the pair, and everything was dark and silent.

* * *

**Sigh…finally done! I feel sorta bad for putting Sakura through so much in one day...father recently passing away, getting an arranged marriage, finding out you weren't their real child, and then the fire! **

**Sigh...I'm so mwahaha.**

**Anyways...I'm thinking of changing my summary and story title...don't worry, there will still be geishas, and the love plot of SakuXGaara will ALWAYS be there.**

**But I think I am taking the story to a different direction. **

**Please tell me if you thought that there was too much writing, too sad, or too slow.**

**THANKS! REVIEW PLEASE! THANKS! **

**ps...what's fire in japanese?**


	4. Chapter 3

_Tsunade…Naruto…._

_**We're here…**_

_I can't see you…_

_**Open your eyes!**_

_Tsunade…_

_**Sakura…**_

_Naruto…_

_**Sakura!**_

_Don't leave me!_

"Sakura!"

Sakura tossed and turned in her sleep, she was constantly haunted by the same dream over and over again. But it seemed that this time, someone had really called her name.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes to find the redhead staring down at her with worried eyes.

"Are you ok, Sakura?"

Sakura was about to reply when she froze.

"How do you know my name?"

The redhead smiled and sat back. "You told me once, eight years ago."

Sakura looked at the boy, eight years had past, yet he still remembered her name. Sakura couldn't believe that anyone had that kind of memory. She also couldn't believe that her family was gone. Everything that she ever cared for was gone.

She closed her eyes again and rubbed her face with her hands. She was so tired. Just then she realized that she was sleeping on a bed. She opened her eyes and looked around; they were in a nicely furnished room.

Sensing her confusion, the redhead explained that he had brought them to the inn, and that the maids here had changed her clothes. Sakura looked down to see a clean kimono on her. She didn't know why this boy was being so nice to her.

"Why are you doing this?" Sakura asked weakly.

The redhead didn't know what to say, so he just shrugged and decided not to answer. Sakura sighed.

"What am I going to do now?" She whispered sadly. There were five options for her: 1) get married. 2) become a maid. 3) Become a mountain bandit. 4) Become a prostitute. Or 5)… Sakura turned her head to look at the redhead. Follow him wherever he goes.

There was no reason for Sakura to get married, now that her family was gone. So she didn't want to do that. Besides, she could never lie to herself and pretend that she was still a noble.

Becoming a maid was out of the question, since she was raised as a noble, she would never be able to handle the chores a maid had. Also, Sakura knew that she had an attractive face and air about her, so she could easily fall prey to a master raping her.

Becoming a mountain bandit…Sakura chuckled at the thought of her becoming a mountain bandit, and moved on to the next option.

Becoming a prostitute… Sakura sighed; she had no intention of doing that.

So the only reasonable option Sakura had was to follow the redhead around, if he would let her of course.

"Let me get you something to eat." The redhead got up from his chair and walked to the door.

"Wait!"

The redhead turned around to face Sakura. "What is it?"

"Um…" Sakura seemed at a loss for words, she didn't why she had asked him to wait; just the thought of him leaving her side had brought a surge of distress upon her. "Could you get me something hot?"

The redhead smiled. "Sure."

Then he walked out, addressing the first maid he saw. Sakura had never really noticed before, but the redhead had a commanding air about him. Sure he was real polite and charming, and really kind to Sakura, but there was something about him that commanded respect…and fear.

After a few minutes, the redhead came back with a tray of food and set them down on Sakura's lap. Upon seeing the food, Sakura's stomach immediately growled painfully and her mouth watered like a river. The redhead chuckled when he saw Sakura's face.

"Go ahead, dig in."

"Oh I know that." Sakura replied. "I was just taking in the view of all these food." She sniffed the sweet aroma of the stewed soup and then dug in. She ate so fast that some of the food was sent flying onto the floor, and the redhead just ended up chuckling.

"You are such a child." He said, and then he brushed a piece of rice away from Sakura's cheeks. This action caused Sakura to blush slightly; she never realized the effect this man had on her.

"Well, once you're done with that, we can start getting on our way."

Sakura hesitated. "Getting on our way? What do you mean?"

The redhead stared emotionlessly at Sakura, but Sakura thought that she could make out a glimmer of sadness.

"You just need to get away from here."

The pink-haired girl blinked at the redhead. "You mean, leave town?"

The redhead nodded his head. "You can't stay."

Sakura frowned. "Why not?"

"You just can't."

"Why? Why can't I stay? I have to leave? This…this place is my home." Sakura pleaded, she felt a pang of sorrow hit her heart at the thought of her leaving this place.

"I don't understand why I have to leave…where would I go?" The sad girl whispered.

"Sakura, I…"

His sentence was cut short by a scream that came from the floor below. It was such a startling scream that it made Sakura gasp.

"What was that?"

More screams were followed moments later and soon, shouts and clashing objects could be heard throughout the inn. The redhead quickly poked his head out the window and looked down to see what the commotion was all about. Sakura couldn't make out what he saw, for he hid his emotions well, but she could still tell that the redhead had tensed up.

He turned around to face Sakura with a determined look on his face. "Stay here." With that, he sped out of the door, leaving Sakura speechless.

"What was that all about?" The pink head thought to herself. She got up and walked to the window, and wished she didn't.

Men were fighting everywhere in the streets, and they weren't fighting to stall or hurt, they were fighting to kill.

Sakura then caught the eye of a man in a black mask, his eyes narrowed before he dashed into the inn, slashing his way through innocent bystanders that happened to be in his way.

Sakura gasped and turned away from the window, she felt a sense of emergency; she knew that she was in trouble. Not waiting another moment, Sakura dashed for the door and flung it open. The moment she did, a kunai was thrown at her and just missed her face by inches; the blade was left stuck on the wall beside her.

With heart pounding and eyes widening with shock and disbelief, Sakura turned to look at her assaulter to find him, a masked man, struggling in the arms of the redhead. Sakura froze when she saw the redhead twist the man's neck mercilessly, a snap was heard, and he let the lifeless body drop to the floor. He looked up to see Sakura staring at him in disbelief and horror.

"The man's a murderer!" She screamed in her head. Never mind that the masked man had almost killed Sakura, and never mind that the redhead had probably saved her life.

Right now she was in shock that the redhead had actually killed a man.

The redhead's eyes flashed with a look that said 'I'm sorry you had to see that' and then jumped onto the balcony ledge, he took out one of his daggers and whipped it with incredible speed at another masked man below. It stabbed through the man's neck. He froze in mid-attack, and a moment later fell to the ground.

The innocent pink haired girl covered her mouth with her hand and muffled a scream. She watched two men die today in a most horrific way.

She glanced back up at the redhead, to find his eyes flashing again in her direction, and to Sakura's horror, he was advancing toward her. Sakura stumbled backwards into her room and tried to find a weapon to hit this crazy lunatic.

"He's going to kill me!"

Sakura saw that he was yet again taking out another kunai, and taking a stance of throwing it, he was now sprinting full speed toward Sakura.

The girl stumbled backwards and put her hands protectively up in front of her face. The redhead flung the kunai. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. In that split moment, Sakura wondered if she was going to die painfully.

But the pain never came. It felt like hours before Sakura had the courage to open her eyes again. She heard a gurgling sound behind her, and when she turned around, she was too horrified to even scream.

Another masked man was standing right behind her, with an axe still held high in the air, ready to be brought down for a final blow. A single kunai protruded from his chest. The man gagged his final breaths and fell to the floor, unmoving.

A revelation dawned upon Sakura. The redhead hadn't been trying to kill her after all; he had been trying to protect her. The girl's eyes trailed from the dead man on the floor to the window, where what seemed like hundreds of masked ninjas flooded through, weapons in hand, blood thirst in their eyes.

The redhead came up behind Sakura and shoved her roughly behind him. There he stood protectively, blocking the ninjas from her.

"Get out of here." The redhead barked, while skillfully beating the attackers back with only his kunai, his fist, and his flying kicks. Yet no matter how much Sakura wanted to listen to her rescuer, her legs wouldn't move.

A man came at the redhead with a straight sword; the redhead ducked with lightening speed, sprung back up just inches from the man's face, and then slashed his throat diagonally with his kunai. Using his elbow, the redhead roughly shoved the man to the side and prepared himself for another ninja.

Two ninjas came at him this time, weapon in hand. They cornered the redhead and brought down their weapons for the fatal blow. He was quicker than them however, and reacted by kicking one of the men in the face, producing a crack, and then turned around to finish the other off.

But he was too late. While he was preoccupied with this ninja, the other ninja went to Sakura.

Sakura just stood there, cowering from the look in this man's eyes. She didn't know what to do. The only thing that rang through her mind was _I don't want to die._

But before this ninja could do anything to hurt Sakura, a kunai pierced through the man's belly. His eyes widened when the dagger was pulled out of his body, and he fell to the floor, dead. The redhead stood there, panting.

"You idiot! I thought I told you to run!"

Sakura was scared. Her eyes called out to the redhead, and he seemed to hear. The redhead regained his composure and walked up to Sakura, and put both of his hands on her shoulders.

"Do you trust me?"

Sakura looked into his green eyes, they held no lie.

"Do you trust me?" He repeated again, this time softer.

The pair kept on holding each other's gaze, never turning away.

"With my life." Sakura whispered. She had never felt so at ease with a man before, she had never trusted anyone as much as he. Just then, at least ten ninjas burst through the doors, throwing daggers and shurikens.

The redhead acted quickly, but Sakura thought that she saw yet another glimmer of sadness in those eyes before he put on that unemotional mask of his.

He scooped Sakura up in his arms and charged toward the window. At the last moment, he stepped up onto the ledge and jumped.

During all this time, Sakura didn't feel scared at all. She felt so safe and warm in those strong arms of his. She trusted him, with her life.

No one really knows what happened next, because the next thing that everyone saw was a sudden whirlpool of sand that came up as high as the buildings, with the pair jumping into it.

In a split second, the whirlpool was gone, and so was the pair.

The rest of the ninjas crawled out into the sun and out of the inn, most were hurt, some were dead. The citizens got away as soon as they could, for fear they might be caught and killed later on.

But one ninja didn't care; he stood in the open street, took off his hood, and ruffled the sand out of his hair. He was pissed not because their objective escaped, but because they got sand in his hair…and other places. He stood there, cursing his butt off, not realizing that his superior was standing right behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The man froze, and turned around swiftly to find Temari, the second in command for the secret police, staring him down with those piercing eyes of hers. The man sighed.

"Oh, it's only you, sis."

"You will address me as captain or ma'am." Temari ordered.

Kankuro crossed his arms across his chest and pouted. "Why should I? You're only higher in rank to me by one." Then he smiled mischievously. "And I heard that I was going to be promoted into your position as second in command."

Temari smacked Kankuro on the back of his head.

"You idiot, the only reason you're being promoted into my position is because I'm being promoted too!"

Kankuro rubbed his head.

"Guess I never really thought about it that way, sis."

Temari sighed and looked up at the sky as if she saw something there.

"Stupid little brother. What does he think he's doing?"

Kankuro nodded. "Maybe he's got the hots for that chick. She looked pretty cute."

Temari glared at her brother, and sighed.

"Our _dear_ little brother isn't that kind of person. Besides, he's already seen his fair share of beautiful women."

Kankuro put on a serious face. "There must be some other reason he's acting this way."

Temari looked down and sighed again. "I hope you know what you're doing, little brother."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"You can open your eyes now."

Sakura snapped open her eyes and looked around. They were in the middle of a lush, green forest. She turned around and saw that there was a single solitary horse chewing grass nearby. Sakura looked up and blushed profoundly.

She was still in the arms of the redhead. He was crouched on the floor, with Sakura in his lap, and he hands were under her knees and placed on her back. His handsome face was just inches from Sakura's own.

The pink haired girl squealed at their closeness and turned to hide her face from the probing eyes of the redhead. Her face felt like they were on fire, and her heart was pounding and racing in her chest so loud, that she was surprised that the redhead didn't hear it. Her head spun, probably from the ever constant pounding of her heart.

"You ok?"

Sakura managed to huff out. "Oh, I'm fine! Just a bit dizzy from the ordeal! But I'll be fine! If you could just let me down…"

The redhead blinked and stared at Sakura, unmoving.

"I would put you down, except…"

Sakura suddenly got a burst of courage. She turned around to face the redhead, her heart pounding ever so deeply.

"Except what?" Sakura whispered, hardly realizing how her face inched unconsciously closer and closer to the redhead's face.

She had a vague idea where this was going.

Sakura silently closed her eyes and puckered her lips.

She was ready!

"Can you let go of me?"

Sakura's eyes snapped open as she realized that her fantasy had been shattered into a million pieces…by the person she was fantasizing about!

"What?" Sakura asked, annoyed.

The redhead smiled the smile that always weakened Sakura's knees. "It's just that your arms are clamped tight around my neck so I can't really put you down anywhere."

Sakura trailed her arms with her eyes and realized that the redhead was right; her arms were clamped tight around his neck.

Embarrassed, Sakura quickly unlocked her arms, but the redhead wasn't prepared for this, and Sakura fell from his arms and dropped on her rump.

"Oof!"

The redhead gasp. "Oh! Sakura, are you alright?"

Sakura rubbed her behind. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

The redhead tightened his lips and turned his face away Sakura, moments later she heard snickering. He was laughing at her!

Sakura frowned, "I'm glad you find my pain amusing." She huffed and stood up all too soon. Immediately, she got a head rush, her vision blurred and danced before her, she swayed from side to side and felt like she was going to puke at any second.

She brought her hands before her to steady herself on something, and that something just so happens to be the only boy with her.

"Whoa there, wouldn't want you hurt now, would we?"

Sakura felt the ground beneath her feet vanish as the redhead scooped her up without so much as an effort and dumped her in the saddle on one of the horses.

The pink haired girl sighed, the head rush had passed.

"Now," He said as he tugged on the horse's reins. "Shall we go on our way?"

Sakura knew the answer to that; she would follow him to the ends of the earth. She didn't know why she trusted him so; she didn't even know anything about him.

Sakura smiled, "I don't even know your name."

The girl knew that even though she didn't know his name, she would still go wherever he wanted her to go.

The redhead turned around to face Sakura.

He held a very polite and charming look, even though his eyes glimmered with amusement.

"Call me Gaara."

* * *

**YAY! Chapter three! FINALLY!! Sorry for taking so long, but I wanted to do good in this chapter. Guess what? I got my own personal EDITOR!! She's the best! Anyways, got any questions, concerns, or comments, click the little button below!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. But I do own the plot:D**

The soft pitter-patter of feet shuffled across the black marble floor. Temari silently proceeded to the grand hall, where someone was waiting for her.

Upon arriving at the grand door, the guards swung it open to reveal a hall made entirely of black marble. Heavy black drapes hung where the windows would have been, blocking out the sunlight and instilling a chilly dungeon-like feel.

There were no ornaments to adorn the hall, only a single solitary black marble throne, lined with pure gold, was placed at the end of it. And seated upon it was a person as still and cold as a statue itself.

Prince Sasuke.

Temari respectfully bowed in front of the prince, even though she was several years older than him, and waited for him to speak.

The prince's eyes flickered toward the bowing figure, and contempt filled his eyes.

"You've failed."

The prince's icy words sent chills up Temari's spine, yet she managed to keep her stance.

"My prince," The ninja addressed. "I will accept the blame and punishment for my incompetence."

"Yes, you will." The dark figure hissed. "Not only that, you will also_attempt_ to accomplish what I have given you. I promoted you because I thought that you could handle it, but you've disappointed me."

Temari bowed even lower, she knew that her punishment would be great.

"How hard is it," The prince mocked, "to catch a sand-bending freak?"

"My lord, Gaara is a lot stronger than he looks." Temari tried to reason with the prince, but to no avail.

"Silence!"

Sasuke's booming voice echoed throughout the hall, making it seem never ending.

Temari shook, no one can stand being near the prince for too long.

"You are pathetic, both you _and_ your puppet-controlling brother." Sasuke spat, he despised anyone who couldn't do what he told them to do, and that included basically everyone.

"How does it feel," Sasuke sneered. "To have your _little_ brother overcome you in everything you do?"

Temari clenched her fists, if it was anyone else that was mocking her, she would have clobbered them. But the prince was an exception.

Temari kept her temper in check, and replied through gritted teeth.

"My brother and I will do everything in our power to retrieve Gaara."

"That won't be necessary."

Temari turned around to see where the voice came from, and found two men striding through the grand doors.

Temari noticed from their manner of walking that one of the men was very arrogant and brash, while the other one following in the shadows was soft-spoken and timid.

Sasuke smirked at Temari's confusion.

"You and your brother have already failed me. So tell me why I should give you another chance."

The prince said the last sentence as a statement, not a question.

"My prince, I…"

Sasuke held up his hand to silence her, and waited for the pair to come before him.

The two lined up in front of the prince and bowed respectfully. Temari saw that the brash mannered man was very muscular, while the other contrasted him with a skinny frame.

"I never should have sent amateurs to do a _professional's_ job." Sasuke sighed.

"This is Zabuza, and this is Haku."

Temari scrutinized the pair. Zabuza, she could've sworn that she's heard that name before.

"Could this be…?"

"Yes." Zabuza cut in for her. "I am Zabuza, of the village hidden in the mist."

A look of horror spread across Temari's face. So the prince was willing to send in the assassins now.

"I'm sending Zabuza and Haku to take over your mission of capturing Gaara."

Sasuke gazed at the pair. "Do not disappoint me."

The pair took that as their cue, and bowed to leave.

In a flash, they were gone, leaving a bewildered Temari alone with the cold prince.

"Milord…" Temari said shakily. "Please give my brother and I a second chance, I know that we can capture him this time."

Without warning, Sasuke appeared behind Temari, and clasped his icy fingers around her slender neck.

The prince gripped her neck tighter and tighter until Temari was gasping for air and her neck became pale.

"And why is that?" Sasuke hissed into her ear.

Temari choked and flailed around. She knew that she could do nothing to stop the prince from killing her.

"My prince…" Temari rasped. "We…"

Cough. Cough.

"We know his weakness now!" As Temari wheezed out, colours began to dance before her eyes.

A moment later, his fingers disappeared from Temari's neck, and his presence vanished.

Temari fell to her knees and coughed for air, and the only thing that she heard was the ghastly echo whispered again and again throughout the hall and her mind.

"Pathetic."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The lush green forest was bathed in sunlight, making everything seem more alive than ever.

Some of the rays escaped through the leaves and created intricate patterns of shadow across Sakura's face, warming her entire body.

But she didn't notice how nice the weather was as she swayed according to the horse's movements. All she noticed was the boy trotting in front of her.

_Gaara… _Sakura thought. She seemed perfectly content by the fact that she knew his name.

The pink haired girl's eyes bore into Gaara as she attempted to memorize every movement of his body, the way they moved and flexed.

He had the body of a runners', slim and lean. But Sakura knew from experience that he was much stronger than he looked.

Sakura smiled to herself, who would've thought that this boy, out of all the other people in this world, would pick Sakura to protect.

Just then, Gaara saw from the corner of his eyes that Sakura was yet again staring at him.

"I guess she just doesn't have anything better to look at." Gaara thought grimly to himself. He was concerned. How could she remain so peaceful?

Gaara reined his horse in so that it was at the same pace with Sakura's horse, and tuned to face her.

"You're awfully calm." The redhead stated.

Sakura blinked. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Gaara shrugged and replied sarcastically. "Oh I don't know, maybe because people had just tried to _kill _you."

Sakura titled her head. It was quite strange, she knew that she should be shaken, but she wasn't.

"I know I should be scared." Sakura said slowly. "But I'm not."

Gaara frowned. "How can you_ not_ be?"

Sakura shrugged. "I'm just not."

Gaara frowned again at her awful explanation.

Sakura just smiled, she was happy that this redhead was concerned about her.

"I do have a few questions though." Sakura admitted.

Almost immediately, Gaara had on that inexpressive mask of his, as if he was trying to hide something. Sakura hated whenever he put it on, because she could never tell what he was thinking.

"What is it?" He asked coldly, turning away from the girl.

Sakura noticed the change in Gaara, but she still pressed on. There was one question that she was dying to ask, ever since she met him.

"Who are you?"

When Gaara remained silent, Sakura pressed on.

"And why are you helping me? How come you were at my house? Who were those men? Why were they trying to kill us? Where did you learn to fight like that, and when are you going to answer my questions?" Sakura finished, irritated that Gaara didn't even seem to have heard what she said.

The pink haired girl pouted her lips and crossed her arms across her chest, determined to get her answers.

"Well?"

Gaara remained unmoving, as if calculating the consequences for answering the girl's questions.

Finally, he spoke. "Those men who had tried to kill us were the prince's secret police."

Sakura blinked. _The prince's secret police? _Sakura thought. She's heard stories of the prince, of how he was a strict ruler, and due to his childhood, he grew up to be cold and spiteful. But she's never really heard of any secret police, not to mention the killings of any secret police.

"Secret police? There's no such thing…is there?"

"The secret police is a group of elite ninjas that carry out the prince's biddings…illegal ones."

Sakura frowned. "Illegal ones? What do you mean?"

Gaara continued in his serious monotone-like voice. "If the prince feels like his position for power is being threatened, he'll get rid of whatever is threatening him. And if there's something he wants, he'll do whatever means necessary to get it."

The girl bit her bottom lip, she was so confused. "I don't understand. It's not like we're threatening his power and authority."

Gaara remained silent at her statement. That was when it hit Sakura, _she_ might not be a threat, but Gaara could be. After all, she was just a tag along with Gaara, plus she knew nothing about him; he could a mass murderer for all she knew.

"So," Sakura replied cautiously. "They were there to kill you?"

Silence.

Sakura inspected the redhead for a bit, before she asked again.

"How do you know this?"

Gaara remained unmoved. "I can answer your questions, but I can't tell you _how _I come to know them."

Sakura sighed. He's so mysterious. "Ok then, where did you learned to fight like that?"

"Living on your own, you sort of pick up these things." Gaara replied solemnly.

The pink haired girl felt a speck of sympathy for the redhead; he was alone in this world, just like she was.

With newfound courage, Sakura spoke up. "Why is the prince after you?"

She was greeted by silence yet again, and she thought that Gaara wasn't going to answer, but to her surprise, he did.

"He wants something from me."

Sakura was really confused now. "Did you steal from him?"

"No."

"Kill someone?" She asked a little shakily.

Gaara paused. "Yes…but that's not why he's after me."

Sakura gripped the horse's reins tighter. So he _was_ a murderer. Gaara seemed so intimidating now, like he was radiating an aura of hatred.

Sakura tried to lighten things up. "What, did you go and bed the wrong women?"

The redhead actually managed to crack a weak smile. "I wish it were that simple." Although a small smile played across Gaara's lips, his eyes glimmered with such sadness and agony.

Sakura wanted to run towards him and comfort him, but she knew no good would come of that.

Sakura took the time to summarize everything she's learned. The prince was after Gaara because he has something the prince wants, that's why he sent the secret police. But this still doesn't answer the main questions that Sakura wanted to know.

"Why…why are you helping me?"

Gaara said nothing.

Sakura was becoming _very_ annoyed now.

"I mean, it would've been better if you had just left me to die in the fire, instead of putting my life in danger by dragging me into this twisted political matter between you and the prince."

As soon as Sakura spat out those words in a single breath out of annoyance, did she gasp and cover her mouth.

Why did she say that? Sakura mentally kicked herself for what she had said. How could she have said that to someone who had saved her life? It wasn't like Gaara meant for this to happen.

"Gaara, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that…" Sakura apologized meekly.

But she was cut off by the boy. "It's fine. I knew you would feel that way sooner or later."

Sakura's heart sank. He knew she would feel this way? Did she feel this way? Did she blame Gaara for everything that had happen?

"N-no, I don't feel this way Gaara. I'm thankful for what you've done, it's just that…" Sakura searched her vocabulary for words to describe how she felt.

"I feel very aggravated and insignificant that you won't tell me what's going on. I guess I just don't like to be kept in the dark." Sakura bowed her head in shame, she felt so useless.

Sakura looked up to see that, for the first time today, Gaara was actually looking at her, his emotions displayed across his face.

He looked so hurt.

"I don't want you to feel that way. If anything, you are most definitely not insignificant to me." The words that were whispered out of Gaara's mouth seemed so earnest and sincere.

Sakura was pleasantly surprised; the redhead had basically told her that she was significant to him. She blushed cutely and bowed her head.

"T-Thank you." Sakura shyly replied. She didn't know what else to say!

All too soon, Gaara stopped his horse dead in its tracks. He held out his arm to instruct Sakura to do the same. Sakura pulled tight on the reins and was about to ask Gaara what was wrong when he raised his hand to silence her.

Sakura bit her lip and frowned. _What is his problem?_

Nonetheless, Gaara didn't move a muscle as he listened to their surroundings. The horses stomped the ground restlessly.

Sakura listened in too, and found that she heard nothing, absolutely nothing. So she thought it was alright, and was about to speak again when Gaara flashed a warning glare at her.

Sakura gulped. Gaara could be scary sometimes.

The girl tried to listen again, and found that nothing was making a sound.

Not the ever constant twittering of birds.

Not the rustle of leaves in the wind.

The whole forest felt like it was holding its breath.

_"If there was one thing I learned on all my travels as a rescue ninja, it was that silence is never a good sign." Tsunade confided in her daughter._

_Sakura sat there, listening attentively. _

_"What does it mean then?" The girl asked, curious._

_"It means danger."_

Sakura's sudden flashback from her childhood life crossed her mind.

Danger.

All of a sudden, the twang of a bow string was heard, echoing through the trees. And a moment later, a single arrow whizzed past Sakura, just inches from her face. The arrow managed to slice a few strands of her pink hair.

Sakura's heart rate accelerated in that split second, and her mind froze.

But Gaara acted fast.

He grabbed Sakura's reins and forced both their horses to break into a frenzy gallop.

Moments later, the strum of bow strings was heard repeatedly as dozens more arrows where shot towards the pair from the dense forest.

Gaara effortlessly rendered the arrows useless with a flick of his wrist as a wall of sand rose to protect them.

When the wall crumbled back to the earth, not only arrows, but kunais and shurikens were flung at them.

Gaara deflect them with another wave of sand, but it seemed that these weapons were just a diversion.

Sakura turned to face the front and gasped at what she saw. "Gaara!"

The redhead whipped around to find dozens of ninjas before them, blocking their way out.

Each of them repeatedly threw kunais and shurikens at the still galloping pair, but to no avail as Gaara deflected them all.

But one of the ninja was smart enough to not go straight for the people.

He held four shurikens between his fingers and skillfully whipped them at the horses.

The full galloping horses had no idea what was coming as their legs were sliced clean through.

The shurikens, now soaked with blood, returned to its owner's hands in a flash.

But the horses fell, head first, into the earth, neighing in pain and death, as its legs gave way. Any other man would have been dragged down along with the tumbling horse, but Gaara was no other man.

In mere seconds, He lightly leaped from the saddle and bounded to Sakura's seat in a flash. Scooping her up in his arms, he then jumped and crouched onto the ground, clouds of dust rose where he landed.

Behind him, a heap of dead horses and bloody limbs piled into the dust.

Gaara looked up and flashed a death glare at the ninja who had decapitated his horse.

Sakura glanced up and saw the look on Gaara's face. It was contorted with hatred…and fear.

Six ninjas charged at Gaara with their weapons in hand, three on each side.

Clenching his fists, Gaara immediately formed spikes that protruded from the ground as the ninjas approached him. The spikes gutted two of them.

The rest expertly dodged the spikes and leaped into the air.

Gaara took this to his advantage as he opened his palm, and fashioned a sand-hand ten times bigger than his own. He swiped his hand through the air, and his sand-hand followed.

The hand ended up sending two of the ninjas plummeting through the air. One of them landed on the ground with a thump, and he slowly got back to his feet. The other one fell, back first, onto a tree branch.

A resounding crack was heard ringing through the trees, declaring that the man had broken his back, and therefore, died.

Now only three ninjas approached Gaara.

All of them did a multitude of hand signs and four clones each appeared beside them.

Gaara stood up, with Sakura still in his arms, and watched in silence as the ninjas approached them.

Sakura turned her head anxiously toward Gaara, only to find that she couldn't read his expression.

_Why is he just standing here?_

The ninjas reached them, and brought their weapons up into the air. Bringing them down with a great amount of force; Sakura closed her eyes, fearing what she would see.

Whoosh. Clinkety-clank. Ahhhhh! Thump.

Sakura opened her eyes to find that a wall of sand had suddenly appeared before them.

On the other side, the ninjas had been stabbed clean through by spikes that jutted from the wall.

Leaving all of them dead.

Still not putting Sakura down, Gaara cautiously lowered the wall of sand to find that only two ninjas remained.

Sakura could tell that one of them was a very muscular man, while the other seemed like a girl wearing a mask.

Without taking his gaze off the pair, Gaara carefully but quickly set Sakura down.

"Stay behind me." He whispered.

Sakura felt like she was going to cry. He was protecting her…again.

"So we meet again, Gaara." The muscular man spoke.

_How does he know Gaara's name?_

"Who sent you?" Gaara questioned.

"Who else would send us to capture you?" The man rumbled in his deep voice.

Gaara remained detached.

"If you think that you can recapture me this easily, then you're a fool."

_Recapture? What does Gaara mean? Have they met before?_

The man chuckled in his baritone voice. "No, it is _you_ who is the fool, for thinking that you can escape us. Which reminds me, how are your parents?"

Gaara stiffened.

"Last I saw them was, oh I don't know, ten years ago was it? You were just eight years old then."

Gaara clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"How are they doing now? Oh wait, I forgot. They're _dead_."

The redhead flinched. "Shut up." He whispered under his breath.

"And who killed them? Do you remember? No? Well, _I_ do."

Gaara's entire body was trembling now. From fear or anger, Sakura couldn't tell.

"Surely you must remember that it was _I_ who murdered your beloved family."

"I said shut up." Gaara's voice shook as he spoke.

"If the prince hadn't requested it, I would have killed your siblings too. And in the same fashion I slaughtered your parents." A malicious smile crept across the man's face. He was enjoying the fact that he was tormenting this child.

The redhead's eyes blazed with hatred and rage, and he throw daggers with those eyes at the man, just daring him to continue.

"How does it feel?" The man hissed.

"To watch helplessly from the side as your family was butchered right in front of your eyes?"

* * *

**Ta da! Wow, the chapters just keeps on getting longer and LONGER! xP Hope that's good news.** **Oh ja, and I have a question. How come no one's reviewing? Is it cause this story SUCKS? cry... And I got another question, did you think the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified? If you don't know what that is, you are either too young, or you are just an idiot. Haha. I know it's totally random and totally not related to the story, but I GOTS to know! Lastly: Got any questions about the story:D It's might be getting a bit confusing, so ask away:D :D :D**

**Click the button below!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Heh heh heh...now now, I actually have an excuse for being sooooooo late. My computer crashed cause it had a virus. Likely story you say? Well, its true, so believe it: D heh. Well, to appologize, I've written you a VERY long chapter! YAY! Hopefully that's a good thing. :D And this'll probably be the last fighting scene in a long time to come, since I'm tired of writing fighting scenes, and its getting WAYYY too depressing. Don't worry, the story'll lighten up considerabally afterwards: DDDD**

**BTW: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS: DDDDDD And I'm sorry for spazing out before and saying that NO ONE reviewed when in fact some of you did review. So I appologize for that. **

**Now, ON WARDS!**

* * *

"I said SHUT UUUUPPPPPP!" 

Gaara finally snapped. 

Sakura shrunk behind him, terrified by this boy whose voice rumbled through her petite form. 

It seemed his voice had vibrated through the ground too, for the earth shook violently as if there was an earthquake. Streams of sand flowed from the ground and surrounded the redhead in a violent whirlwind. 

But the muscular man didn't seem scared at all, not even when the ground beneath him shuddered and cracked open. The pair jumped out of harm's way without so much as a glance toward the ground. 

The man chuckled darkly. "Heh, did I make little Gaara angry?" 

The ground shook once more as the earth split open dangerously. 

The assassins bounded for the sky once again, with the redhead at the ready.

Gaara brought his hands up, forming a pair of gigantic sand-hands before him. He then brought his hands together in a clap, while the sand-hands proceeded to slap the tar out of the people in the sky.

The hands met, winding up with an enormous 'bang!' as a giant gust of wind and sand flew everywhere. 

Sakura coughed and shielded her eyes from the flying dirt. 

"No one could've lived through that." Sakura thought, positively aghast. 

When the air cleared up enough for her to see, Sakura couldn't believe her eyes.

There stood the pair as if nothing had happened. 

Sakura squinted her eyes, was it even possible for someone to survive that? Was this some sort of optical illusion that her eyes were playing on her?

She thought not.

"Didn't think we would fall for the same tricks again, now did you?" The muscular man rumbled. 

_Again?_

Sakura tugged at the edge of Gaara's shirt, and peered up at him with worried eyes.

"You've met before?"

As if taking notice of the pink-haired girl for the first time, the man smiled mischievously. 

"Oh, how very rude of me. Allow me introduce myself. I am Zabuza, from the village hidden in the mist."

Gaara tilted his head slightly so that he could speak to Sakura, but kept his ever alert gaze fixed on the pair.

"Don't listen to _anything_ he says, understand?" The redhead whispered. 

Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but Gaara cut her off with his glare. 

The girl was surprised by two things, the fact that Gaara had taken his eyes off the pair, therefore endangering himself. And the fact that his glare held no threat, no anger, not even the least bit of venom. His gaze held such yearning, yearning to be forgiven.

Sakura's heart melted, who could fight against such sad eyes?

She nodded slightly, showing Gaara that she understood. 

The pink-head felt the need to do whatever the redhead wanted her to do. Part of Sakura felt guilty that this boy had saved her life so many times, so the least she could do was do what he said. 

But another part of her, the bigger part, felt that if she didn't do what he said, he would leave. Leave out of her life forever, slipping through her fingers. And the fact that he would be gone forever scared her. It scared her more than anything. 

"Surely you must have questions, dear girl." Zabuza grinned. "I know for a fact that Gaara here won't answer you, but I would be more than happy to accommodate you." He held out a hand, inviting Sakura to come over.

Gaara peered worriedly over his shoulder, but his worry was relieved when he saw that Sakura bore a determined expression. 

She was going to do what he said and not listen to Zabuza.

Gaara sighed inwardly, he was glad Sakura believed him.

"Well?" Zabuza peered.

The pink-haired girl put on her best innocent girl look and tilted her head. Smiling sweetly, she replied in a girly voice. 

"I think I would rather stay here, thank you very much."

Zabuza grunted and clenched his hand into a tight fist. 

"You'll regret that." He hissed. Taking out the immense sword that hung from his back, Zabuza positioned it in front of him.

"I'll give you twenty seconds to escape. After that, I shall spare you no mercy." 

Slowly, he let the bandages that were wrapped around his enormous sword unwind itself.

"One…..two…."

Sakura snapped her head toward Gaara and frowned. 

_Surely Gaara can take care of these two. _

But Sakura knew that it couldn't be a good sign when she saw that Gaara's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. 

Sakura whispered, "G-Gaara?" 

"Three……four…."

Gaara just stood there; it was as if he was actually considering the choice of running.

Sakura anxiously tugged at Gaara's sleeve. "Gaara…" She urged.

_Just DO something!_

"Five……eight…nine…" Zabuza skipped the counts, showing signs that he was growing impatient.

"Ten…twelve…."

Gaara finally made up his mind. 

"Damn." He swore under his breath, as he took a step back and wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist.

Sakura stared at him, was he actually running away? This wasn't like the Gaara she knew. Not that she knew very much of him from the beginning.

And she was right, this wasn't like Gaara. If it had been under different circumstances, Gaara would've blindingly charged at Zabuza, not caring if he himself would live or die.

But under _this_ circumstance, he couldn't take the chances.

Gaara leapt back and dashed through the trees with a fear-stricken girl in his arms.

No. 

Not under this circumstance. 

Not if Sakura would be harmed.

Not if anything would happen to Sakura.

He would die before he let anything like that happen.

The pair swiftly disintegrated into the forest, swallowed up by the shadows.

Sakura just clung to Gaara for dear life. 

She's been on speeding horses, but this was just ridiculous.

They were going so fast that the trees around them were just a blur of green, the wind whipping and whistling by her face.

She feared that if she were to let go, she would wind up in the middle of the sky, plummeting towards the earth.

Just when she thought that things couldn't get any worse, of course, it did.

Something whooshed by the pair, resounding in a crisp and clear "twang". 

Obviously something metal, and big at that.

Gaara picked up the pace, as if they weren't already going fast enough.

Sakura felt her stomach churn dangerously as she watched the zooming scenery; she felt all the agile movements that Gaara was making, and if it were some other time, she would've applauded at the way Gaara dodged and moved.

But right now, all she wanted to do was vomit.

Grasping even tighter and closer to the redhead, Sakura clasped her eyes shut and hoped that the feeling would subside.

The rest was a blur to her, mostly because she had her eyes closed.

She heard more clanging of metal, a few grunts from Gaara, a few taunting laughs from Zabuza, and finally, a thump as Gaara landed firmly on the ground.

Feeling her feet find the familiar sense of the ground, Sakura regained her confidence and cracked open her eyes.

They were out of the forest now, standing in a clearing.

Right behind them was a large lake, its surface seemingly untouched and dipped with colours of silver.

But Sakura had no time to admire their surroundings, for Zabuza and the masked unknown landed in front of them. 

"Why don't you just give up boy?" Zabuza rumbled, hints of annoyance seeping through his voice.

"You would save everyone a hell of a lot of trouble." 

Pausing, Zabuza observed the fact that Gaara was taking great care over the pink-haired girl. 

Zabuza smirked as he came to the realization, and a new scheme brewed in his mind.

"I promise I won't hurt the girl."

Gaara flinched. "If you lay one finger on her…"

"You'll what?" Zabuza challenged. "Kill me?"

Zabuza threw his head back and laughed. 

"The last time you tried doing that, your family ended up dead." 

Gaara froze. Sakura knew that the redhead couldn't take much more of this.

"Face it Gaara, if it weren't for you, your family would still be alive." Zabuza taunted.

Sakura felt a new emotion stir inside her, it was scorching, and it burned her to her core.

Anger.

With this newfound emotion to drive her on, Sakura stepped boldly out from behind the protection of the redhead.

"Stop it, just stop it!" She yelled. 

Seeing this display of courage from the girl, Zabuza broke into laughter once again. Finally, his mirth subsided, and Zabuza bore a murderous expression.

"How pathetic." 

All Sakura saw next was the man charging full speed towards her, with his sword held firmly at his side.

This time, Sakura didn't close her eyes, or bring her arms over her head. She stood there, head held high, not having the slightest clue to what she was doing.

Then suddenly, she felt something pull her backwards. 

Soon she realized that Gaara yet again came to the rescue by pulling her back with his sand towards the lake.

The two skimmed the watery surface, not falling into it, which shocked Sakura.

_I'm walking on water!_

Zabuza however, was not at all surprised. 

Instead, he was hot on Gaara's trail and bounded on the water as if he were on the ground.

He leaped into the air and raised his sword above his head, bringing it down as he plummeted towards the pair, letting out a battle cry as he did.

Bringing Sakura closer to him, the redhead clenched his fists and brought it up, with great difficulty.

Gaara yelled as he finally managed to slowly summon a wall of clay out from the shimmering surface of the lake, in the nick of time too.

Zabuza effortlessly smashed through the thin clay, shattering it to pieces and sending it flying everywhere.

Gaara jumped backwards, bring Sakura along with him, and landed on the water a few feet away.

It still amazed Sakura that she was standing on water as she peered below her feet at the liquid underneath.

After the dust settled, Zabuza stood nonchalantly with his sword slung on his shoulder. 

"What's the matter Gaara? The water's not making it harder for you to move the sand, is it?" Zabuza goaded. 

_So that's what it is._ Sakura thought to herself.

"You do know that you're at a disadvantage, now that I'm in my element." The man's voice ringing with arrogance. 

"Don't worry," Zabuza reassured. "I'll make sure the girl dies swiftly." 

All too soon, the man began to create hand signs with lightning speed. 

"Suiton: Water Dragon Missile!"

A monstrous looking form shattered through the wet surface with a terrifying roar, soon taking the shape of a dragon. 

The watery substance became its flesh, and its deadly eyes were the colour of red blood. Its entire body nearly took up the whole lake.

Sakura would have screamed. And oh, how she wishes she could've. But alas, the sound chocked in her throat as she was propelled upwards by Gaara, the air rushing out of her lungs completely.

The dragon lashed its long tail at them, but missed by an inch as Gaara maneuvered out of the way.

Sensing this, the dragon approached in a different way.

It expanded its large jaw, with several _very_ pointy teeth, and slammed its head down, intending to swallow and crush its opponent.

_Shit._

The dragon crashed on top of the pair and into the lake, creating huge tidal waves, causing the surface of the water to waver, moving Zabuza along with it.

Then, all was silent. 

All that was left in the wind were wafts of mist. 

And there stood Zabuza, arms crossed, his eyes ever alert for anything out of the ordinary.

Still, nothing.

The mist had finally cleared from the air, from which revealed a calm lake.

Not a single ripple, not a single sound.

Zabuza squinted his eyes suspiciously, and began to feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise. 

Then, a silent figure covered by a mask soundlessly approached Zabuza from behind.

The man recognized it as Haku.

Zabuza slowly let his guard down, sensing that Haku was there.

"Do you see anything?" Zabuza questioned him in a mere whisper. 

"No." 

Zabuza froze. His answer came too swiftly, and was spoken too forcefully. What was wrong?

Just as Zabuza was about to turn around, he felt something smooth and cold slap against his neck, he turned his gaze to see it was a kunai. 

"But I do see someone that needs to be eliminated." 

A moment of shock, that's how long it took for Zabuza to realize that this was _not_ Haku at all. 

"You recover fast…Gaara." He growled, half amused, half agitated. "Where's the _real_ Haku?" Behind him, Haku's form melted into Gaara: Transformation Jutsu.

"Does it matter?"

Zabuza chuckled. "Don't be deceived by his appearance, if you get trapped by his jutsu, then you're done for."

"Well then, I'll be sure to watch out for it." Gaara cooed. 

"Where's your sweetheart?" Zabuza cooed right back.

"Somewhere far from you." He retorted. 

"Now if you don't mind," The redhead stated calmly. "I have a throat that needs to be slit." 

Without a moment's hesitation, Gaara grasped the kunai tight in his hand and sliced it through Zabuza's neck. 

But instead of smelling the saltiness of blood, all he saw was water as Zabuza's body melded with the liquid below.

A water clone.

"If you think I'm falling for such an amateur trick, then you are seriously mistaken." The rough voice of Zabuza taunted from behind the redhead.

But before Gaara could reply, the man jabbed his powerful jutsu-fused fist into Gaara's lower back. 

Gaara cried out in pain as he was thrust forward by the force of the blow.

He landed on his knees, with his hands on the water, trying to steady himself.Zabuza crossed his arms and watched Gaara with disgust in his eyes.

"Go and teach him a lesson, Haku." The man ordered as Haku glided towards them, with a drenched, struggling pink-head in his arms.

At the sight of Gaara, Sakura gasped. 

"Gaara!" She called in distress. "Gaara answer me! Are you alright? Gaara!" 

The redhead turned his head away, not wanting to let Sakura see him in such a condition.

With hot tears in her eyes, Sakura frowned and snapped her head toward Zabuza.

"What have you done? What have you done to Gaara! You…you monster!"

Zabuza strode victoriously toward the pink-haired girl and tilted her head up by the chin.

"No sweetie. Gaara here," He jabbed a thumb at the redhead, who was struggling to get up. "Is the _real_ monster here." 

Sakura scoffed furiously at what Zabuza said, and jerked her chin from his grasp.

Just touching him made her sick.

She heaved herself backwards and then spat in Zabuza's face with all the force she could conjure.

The men gasped at Sakura's action, while she just stared Zabuza down with hatred in her eyes.

Zabuza wiped the substance away, then without warning, he struck Sakura in the face with the back of his hand.

"How dare you, you whore!" The man fumed as he wrenched her from Haku's firm grasp.

"You'll pay for that." He hissed as he turned her so that she was facing Gaara, whose face contorted into pain and anger. 

"Haku!" Zabuza commanded. "Teach that ungrateful punk a lesson in pain."

Haku silently glided toward Gaara without hesitation.

The redhead's attempt to punch him was in vain as a mirror, made entirely of ice, rose in front of him.

Gaara frowned and turned for another way out and found that the mirrors blocked off all exits and now surrounded him in an icy dome.

Outside the glassy prison, Gaara heard the dark chuckle of a very amused Zabuza.

"I told you. If you're trapped by his jutsu, then you're done for."

Gaara grimaced and prepared himself into a fighting stance, his eyes darting everywhere.

Haku swiftly glided into the mirrors, as if he was nothing more than a shadow, and disappeared from view.

Sakura's struggles were useless against Zabuza's iron clasp; nonetheless, she continued to thrash about, knowing that her only friend was in dire trouble.

Then, the torture began.

Haku zipped by Gaara and jumped from mirror to mirror at the speed of light. There was no way Gaara could see him, let alone stop him. 

He was powerless as Haku slashed the senses out of him with his kunai.

Sakura bit her lower lip as hot tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped down her quivering chin.

She couldn't believe that she was just standing there when her friend and rescuer was literally being sliced to ribbons in front of her.

She couldn't believe that after all this time, after all the running and dodging, their lives would end here.

Suddenly, something clicked in her mind.

She didn't want to die.

And it seemed as if something inside of her agreed, strongly agreed.

Waves of sudden emotions came upon Sakura as she felt strength return to her legs.

Desperation: the desperation to live.

Warmth claimed her body as the wet, drenched, feeling left her.

Helplessness: The feeling of being trapped.

Her arms shook, not with fatigue as before, but with sudden adrenaline that now pumped through her veins.

Broken memories intruded upon her mind as she remembered the loss she felt when she found out that she was adopted. The anguish she felt when she lost everything in the fire. And the sheer vastness of the world as it crushed its weight upon her.

Then something else came to mind.

She saw the warm smile of a certain redhead, the ever protective shadow he cast upon her and the kindness that twinkled in his eyes whenever he was around.

He was her silver lining in a dark, cold night.

She wanted to protect that.

She wanted to protect that with her life.

A new feeling brewed inside her.

Anger. Sheer anger.

She couldn't just stand around while the best thing that's ever happened to her was dying right in front of her eyes.

Sakura shook her head with fury, she _wouldn't_ let that happen.

The warmth that had claimed her body from before suddenly heated up.

Instead of welcoming warmth, she felt a burning heat raging inside her body.

It grew hotter and hotter until she felt like her entire body was on fire. 

She didn't understand what was going on with her body, and the only thing she could do to release her pain was to scream at the top of her lungs.

And as the scream exploded out from her parted lips, something else exploded out from her.

Fire.

Flames radiated from her skin and burst forward in all directions, but nothing could escape its blazingwrath. 

Zabuza, who had been clutching the pink-haired girl this entire time, was right in the line of fire, and was blasted away.

Haku, who had seen what was happening from his icy dome, was not escaping, but instead was pulling out needles from his tunic.

Gaara, who was hanging onto his life by a thread, glanced at Haku, then Sakura, and then back at Haku. The redhead knew exactly what was going to happen.

Tears continued to roll down Sakura's cheeks as the burning sensation strengthened. She didn't understand what was going on, and all she wanted was to have the smoldering pain stop.

Then, from the corner of her eye, Sakura saw that Haku had placed himself on top of the icy prison, and was throwing something that was small and glinted silver in the light, towards her.

Before she could even react, a swift shadow passed over her.

Sakura turned and sobbed.

Gaara had placed himself between her and the needles.

It must've been painful, but the redhead revealed none of it, for he bore a serene expression as he gazed down at Sakura.

Gaara opened his mouth to speak, but no words came, so he settled for a weak smile before he tumbled into the water, motionless.

Sobbing, Sakura let out a gruesome scream. 

Part of Sakura screamed because of her overwhelming loss, another part of her screamed because the scorching feeling sizzled and blazed even hotter. 

Haku disappeared using another one of his jutsus as his mirrors either shattered from the force or melted from the heat that was emitted from Sakura.

The next thing Sakura noticed was that the boiling heat had subsided to a lukewarm feeling on her skin. 

She also noticed that she now stood on the ground, not the water.

Pillars of gas and fumes were everywhere. It seemed to Sakura that the fire had evaporated the entire lake.

Somewhere beside her, Sakura saw the redhead, lying on the ground.

She didn't remember walking towards him, she didn't remember falling either.

Everything was so fuzzy.

The next thing she recalled was that Gaara was right beside her on the ground.Then, without anything else to do, the darkness overtook her.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Retuning to that ever ominous black chamber was not the most favourite thing Haku had to do, but it was necessary.

He shuffled past the guards, swiftly glided across the floor, and bowed low in front of the prince.

Prince Sasuke sat there, drumming his fingers on the arm of the throne.

"Well?" He snapped.

Haku's eyes met the prince's cold stare with no hesitation.

"We've found another one."

* * *

**TADADADAAAA! YAY! Oh the suspence! Did you guys like it? It was pretty depressing wasn't it? Haha, don't worry; most, if not all, will be explained in the next chapter: DDDD**

**REVIEWREVIEWREIVEW! (Tell me what you thought of it:DDD)**


	7. Chapter 6

The first thing that she felt as she drifted into consciousness was welcoming warmth.

The next thing she realized was a thick and fragrant odor that smelled chokingly like a thousand lilies and jasmines.

Opening her eyes reluctantly, Sakura took in the fact that she was in a red room.

The walls were red, the drapes were red, the carpeting and cushions were red, even the wood was red.

Sakura grimaced; she didn't have anything against red, but come on. Whoever built this room was either colourblind, or was suffering from a fashion-disaster disease.

Then, everything rushed back into her mind.

Zabuza and Haku.

The lake.

The icy prison.

And then…

Sakura bit her lower lip as she remembered her ordeal.

What had happened to her?

Her body tingled as she recalled the feeling of the burning sensation on her skin, how painful it had felt to be on fire…Sakura looked at her hand, yet the fire had not injured her skin at all.

Then she remembered something else.

Gasping, the pink-head shot up from her lying position, "Gaara!"

Immediately, she felt the world tip and toss, Sakura grabbed her head and fell back down on the soft mattress, groaning as she did.

"So you're awake."

Sakura turned her head, half expecting it to be Gaara, to find a girl, roughly around the same age as her, sitting on a cushion beside her bed.

The girl's ebony hair was tied up into a tight bun with decorative flowers protruding from it, while her bangs hung loosely on the side, framing her pretty face nicely.

Sakura couldn't help but stare as she realized what colour of eyes this girl had: lavender.

The girl smiled, "You should stay down; you're still not well."

Next Sakura noticed the girl's elaborate kimono, such a kimono she's never seen, except on…

The pink-haired girl blinked.

"Who are you?" she croaked, appalled by the dryness of her own voice. "And where am I? How did I get here?"

The girl smiled softly, "My name is Hinata, although I am usually called something else."

Sakura blinked some more.

"What do they call you?" She asked densely.

"They call her Sayuri, meaning 'little lily', because that is her name." A woman with dark flowing hair informed her as she glided in through the doors with a graceful yet commanding air.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Do not go around giving people your _old_ name!" The older woman scolded Hinata with a flourish of her ridiculously embellished kimono.

Hinata, or Sayuri, bowed several times before she muttered an apology.

Sakura tilted her head.

"I don't understand, is your name Hinata, or Sayuri?"

Hinata looked up at her and twiddled her fingers nervously, "My parents gave me the name Hinata, but mistress Kurenai has given me the name Sayuri."

Sakura sighed, exasperated.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Hinata blushed and looked down, her fingers twiddling ever the faster.

"My name is Kurenai," The dark haired woman informed. "And I am the headmistress of this house."

"This house?"

_Why would a house need a headmistress?_

"Yes, because this is unlike any other house, for this," She raised her arms so that her sleeves fanned open like wings. "Is a geisha house."

Sakura blinked.

_That explains a lot._

It also explains why they're wearing such ornate kimonos.

Sakura remembered where she had seen these kimonos now: That night she and Naruto had whisked away from her house so many years ago, she remembered seeing beautiful women standing by the road, their faces as pale as the moon, their bodies clad with colourful silks.

_"They're geishas,"_ Naruto had explained to the awestruck young girl. _"Not the best kind of people you'll wanna hang out with." _

A pang of sorrow hit Sakura on her chest as she remembered Naruto.

Refusing to think about it any longer, Sakura managed to prop herself up on her elbows and get a good look at the women.

The pink-haired girl examined them, before boldly asking, "Where's Gaara? And how did I get here?"

Mistress Kurenai smiled pleasantly, "No worries, your friend is fine; we took good care of him while you were unconscious. We also carried you two over here from the lake, or what's left of it anyways."

"You see," Hinata murmured. "We geishas usually go down to the lake to take baths, since the rivers in town are so polluted. But when we got there, all we found was a big muddy ditch, with you two lying in it."

Sakura's heart quickened.

"How long was I unconscious?" She asked slowly.

"Three days." Hinata murmured.

"Three days!" Sakura gasped, before she went on.

"But Gaara is fine." Sakura said it more as a statement, not a question, as a feeling of relief washed over her.

The mistress remained silent, her expression unreadable.

Hinata managed to squeak, "His cuts and bruises are healing up nicely, but…"

Sakura resisted the urge to shake the girl.

"But…?" She urged.

Hinata blushed, "Well, we're just not sure why he's not waking up…"

A sudden memory popped into Sakura's mind.

Needles.

She remembered how Gaara had used himself as a human shield against the needles. Sakura wasn't sure what kind of needles they were, but they sure as heck weren't sewing needles.

"Did you find any needles on him?" Sakura blurted.

Hinata blinked.

"Needle marks?" Sakura pressed on.

Hinata blushed, "Actually, we have found several marks on him that could be identified as needle marks…"

"And?" Sakura questioned, leaning her face closer towards Hinata.

"But the needles itself aren't the problem, it was what was _on_ the needles."

Sakura tensed.

"What was on the needles?" She whispered, half afraid to know.

When Hinata didn't answer, Sakura started to become irritated.

"Listen to me," The pink-haired girl said through clenched teeth. "Gaara is important to me." Sakura looked down. "_Very_ important. So you have to tell me what's happening to him. You just have to."

_Did I just say that?_ Sakura thought as her cheeks flushed pink. She didn't even realize that she felt that way until she blurted out her innermost thoughts.

When she still didn't answer, Sakura prepared to drag the girl by her hair until she told her.

But Mistress Kurenai intercepted her before she could even move.

"Are you sure you want to know?" The elegant woman peered.

With a determined look set on her face, Sakura nodded.

The woman's face darkened, "Poison." She replied solemnly.

Sakura flinched.

Was this why Gaara wasn't waking up?

"And this is no normal poison, either. Whoever concocted this must've had a mountain full of supplies, or had a lot of time on their hands, or both. Either way, this poison is unlike any I've ever seen."

"Can you help him?" The pink-head's voice a mere whisper.

"Listen, this poison…we're not exactly sure what it will do, but we do know that this poison will weaken the person physically, maybe so much that the victim's heart will just give up and stop."

Mistress Kurenai sighed. "There's only so much we can do, seeing how we don't have all the supplies needed to make the antidote."

Sakura bit her lip. "What do you need?"

"Silver Snowdrops." She declared.

_Yes,_ Sakura thought. _I've heard of Silver Snowdrops from my childhood in fairytales and folklores. It's supposed to look exactly like snowdrops, but have a glassy shine to them in the sun. It's also said that it's as delicate as glass._

Sakura thought back to her younger years. She remembered how in stories, the Silver Snowdrop was always the magical flower that saved everyone's lives. It was supposed to be the shinning hope for the people.

"But," Sakura shook her head. "There's no such thing as a Silver Snowdrop…is there?"

Kurenai smiled. "It is only talked about in stories and folklore, but by what we've concluded with this poison, the only thing that can heal him is indeed Silver Snowdrops."

Sakura pondered. "But how can we heal Gaara with something that's only been _talked_ about, and in stories and folklore no less."

Kurenai nodded. "We've thought of that, and most of us have concluded that such a thing doesn't even exist."

Sakura's heart sank most involuntarily, like someone had punctured a hole into her chest. Was there no hope?

"But no worries," Kurenai assured her when she saw the expression on Sakura's face. "We've managed to create a different kind of antidote."

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but the headmistress held up her hand to stop the girl.

"Now listen, this antidote won't completely heal the boy, only stall the poison. With each take, the poison will be stalled for about a week." Kurenai bit her lip. "But we're just not sure if the boy can stand having the poison in his body for so long, even if the poison is stalled."

Sakura remained silent for a moment, before asking.

"What's this antidote?" She asked cautiously.

"It's an antidote created from Golden Daffodils."

Sakura blinked, and then gasped as she realized what the headmistress had just said.

"G-Golden Daffodils!?" She exclaimed. "Why, a single bud is worth a horse's weight in gold!"

The image of this rare flower came to mind. It looked exactly like an ordinary daffodil, except for the fact that its petals contain some special minerals that made the flower glitter gold in the sun.

Kurenai chuckled. "Of course we've realized that," She bowed low with a flourish, outstretching her arms as to include everything. "And a lowly geisha house such as this one couldn't possibly afford to feed the young man Golden Daffodils daily."

Sakura eyed the headmistress suspiciously.

Being raised as a noble had taught her a few tricks; one was how to tame a spoiled rich man, another how to weave intricate patterns out of the finest silk without touching a needle, and last but _most certainly_ not least, how to read a person's thoughts through their eyes.

And right now, she detected a hint of sarcasm in the headmistress's eyes, with almost a drop of dramatic mocking.

Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"What are you saying?"

Kurenai straightened. "What ever do you mean?"

_Yep. Definitely sarcasm._

Sakura smiled, playing the role of a gay, young woman.

"How do you intend to feed this young man Golden Daffodils? And daily, no doubt?"

A small, coy smile danced on the corners of Kurenai's mouth, she was amused by how quickly this girl had caught on.

"We still intend to feed him, so you don't have to worry about that. And to pay off the costs, we've decided to do what we geishas do best."

Sakura smiled again, pretending to be completely absorbed in what Kurenai was saying.

"And what do geishas do best?" She cooed.

Kurenai grinned.

"Why, seducing men, of course!"

Sakura blinked, abandoning her role entirely.

"I still don't understand."

At this moment, Kurenai approached Sakura, and knelt down by the bed so that they were face to face.

"Are you willing to do anything to save your Gaara?" She asked. Her voice, which just moments ago caked with sweet and creaminess, now suddenly held a grave and solemn tone.

Sakura gulped, the headmistress's sudden closeness and seriousness had made her nervous.

But abolishing the feeling, Sakura declared with a proud voice.

"Yes."

"Are you willing to sacrifice everything for him?" She continued.

"Yes." _He had sacrificed everything for me_.

"And you'll stop at nothing until he is saved?"

Sakura paused. Why did Kurenai ask her such a question? Nonetheless, Sakura nodded calmly with her eyes full of determination.

Kurenai's eyes locked onto the pink-head's. "Can I hold you to that?"

Sakura's mind raced. Clearly this was an interrogation; Kurenai was probably forcing her to take an oath so she would be trapped in a life-contract forever. She heard of things like this happening before.

_But…_ Sakura thought. _This woman is the only one who can save Gaara. I mean, there's just no way that I'm going to receive any Golden Daffodils anytime soon._

So with her mind made up, Sakura took a deep breath and replied.

"I'll do anything to save Gaara."

After a few moments of intense staring, Kurenai's eyes finally softened.

"Well then," She stood, her voice returning to the previous creamy tone. "We should start preparing."

Sakura looked up at her and blinked.

"Preparing for what?"

Kurenai smiled a soothing and victorious smile.

"What's your name, child?"

Sakura scrutinized the woman before replying.

"Sakura."

Kurenai smiled as she held out a welcoming outstretched palm.

"Well then Sakura, are you prepared to become a geisha?"

**

* * *

Wah!! Sakura's gonna be a geisha!! None of the questions were answered in this chapter, but I'm pretty sure it will be answered in the next one. Or the next one. But no worries, they WILL be answered. Wouldn't want the readers to be fumbling around in the dark, now would we?  
btws: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!  
They're very helpful to me, and keep my spirits up!**

**So thanks!  
REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW!!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Ta-Daaa!! Here it is! This chappie explains some of the questions, so you will feel MUCH betta! : D  
Anyways, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"You're lucky, you know."

Hinata cooed as she lovingly brushed Sakura's pink flowing hair.

"To have pink hair I mean, not being a geisha." She blushed.

Sakura smiled, glad that amidst all this chaos, she had managed to find a friend.

Hinata, otherwise known as Sayuri the geisha, was a gentle soul. No wonder the men flocked towards her and always wanted to book her.

Sakura gazed into the golden-framed mirror.

She hardly recognized herself anymore.

Her fair skin was already fair enough without the troublesome white powder that was required for every geisha to coat over their faces.

_No wonder the geishas I saw back home had faces like the moon._

Her lips were a startling red; it looked as if she had just had a mouthful of blood.

But her kimono…

Sakura sighed; even she couldn't deny that her kimono was lovely.

Its smooth black and red silk cascaded over her body in a nice snug. Decorative white cherry blossoms were etched here and there across her kimono.

Sakura ran a hand over it. It felt so soft; she could feel it all day.

Then, Sakura quickly pulled her hand away from the silk as a thought popped into her mind.

_"I could feel it ALL day…." _Sakura imagined an old drunken man getting cozy with her, trying to grab a feel.

The pink-head sighed and shook her head. What had she gotten herself into?

"Sakura? Are you alright?" Hinata peered as she put the brush down.

Sakura turned to face Hinata. "What am I gonna do, Hinata? I mean, I know that I promised to become a geisha to help pay off the cost for Gaara's antidote, but…there is just NO WAY that I'm going to…you know…"

The raven-haired girl smiled kindly.

"Well, this is pretty much what you signed up for…"

Sakura sighed. She was still a virgin, and there was no way that she was losing it to some fourty-year old guy who was reaching his mid-life crisis.

Hinata continued to pester around with Sakura's hair, ignoring the girl's distress.

Sakura pondered, gazing aimlessly into the mirror.

_If I do this, I can save Gaara. But doing this means that I'll become a prostitute. Would Gaara become a prostitute for me? Whoa, _Sakura shook the thought away._ Let's not go there. _

Sakura sighed, battling with her inner turmoil.

_Gaara has saved me so many times that I've already lost count. Not only that, but I didn't even deserve to be saved. It's only right that I __should__ do all I can to save him in return._

_But…_

Sakura propped her chin on her hand.

_This antidote, this Golden Daffodil, isn't going to save Gaara, only stall his death. If I truly want to save him, I've got to find the_ nonexistent_ Silver Snowdrop._

Sakura shook her head again, earning from Hinata a frustrated sigh as strands of Sakura's hair fell out of place.

_Listen to me, talking as if there _is_ no flower. No, there HAS to be a Silver Snowdrop, after all, they're Gaara's only hope…_

"Sakura…?"

Hinata's soothing voice and her comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder brought the pink-head back to earth.

Sakura actually looked at the mirror now, and gaped at what she saw.

Her pink hair was done up in an elaborate loose bun, with cherry blossom hair sticks stuck into it either to look pretty, or to support other strands of pink hair that curled loosely down her head.

"Wah…!" Sakura mused, turning her head this way and that to get a better look. "You have a talent, Hinata."

The raven-haired girl smiled, and was about to say something, when the door to their room flung open.

Headmistress Kurenai stood at the entrance, looking as majestic as ever.

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here?" The women inspected Sakura.

Then she raised her arm over her head in a dramatic flourish. "It seems as if this tiny bud has finally blossomed into a beautiful flower!"

_So much drama. I guess I'm gonna have to get used to it, living with geishas._

"Now," Kurenai said in her professional tone. "Let's get down to business. We need to think of a geisha name for you."

Hinata began to twiddle her fingers as she suddenly spoke up.

"Actually, I think the name Sakura suits her perfectly." She murmured.

"Oh?" The woman inquired as she raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain?"

"Well," Hinata blushed. "Sakura, meaning cherry blossom, suits her perfectly because she herself looks like a cherry blossom. Plus, the name itself is an artistic enough name fit for a geisha…so…"

Kurenai pondered for a bit, before nodding.

"Yes, I have to say that I agree. You know," Kurenai pointed out, directing her statement toward Sakura. "A lot of the girls here will be envious of you."

"Hmm?" Sakura tilted her head. "Why?"

_Yeah…why would they be envious of me? I haven't told anyone, not even Hinata, that I was raised as a noble. So no one should suspect that I have any training in poetry, dancing, or singing._

The headmistress flashed one of her smiles.

"Because you have natural pink hair and green eyes." She mused. "You have no idea how many of the girls here have dyed their hair pink, it's just a shame that they can't dye their eyes green."

She laughed, amused by the follies of her girls.

Sakura blinked.

"Why would anyone purposefully dye their hair pink?"

"Why, you silly goose." Kurenai scolded. "Because pink is the colour of the geishas."

Blinking again, Sakura shook her head. There was a lot that she needed to learn about geishas. But right now, she had to concentrate on helping Gaara.

Sighing, Sakura stood and patted her kimono down.

With one last check in the mirror, the pink-head smiled confidently and turned to face the headmistress.

"I'm ready."

_For Gaara!_

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Sis…..." A young man in a black hood whined. "How much longer do we have to keep this up?"

"Shush!" A blonde whisper-yelled. "I need to concentrate."

Crouched on the ground, Temari examined the floor of what used to be a lake.

She's already deduced that the pair had headed into the town near the lake, what puzzled her was…

_How is it possible that a lake of this size was completely destroyed? I mean, gone! Gaara couldn't have done this. Zabuza wouldn't do this either…so how…?_

"Yo, sis! You listening?"

Temari stood up and growled.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and find out where Gaara is?"

Kankuro scratched his head.

"Didn't you say they were in that town over there?"

"You idiot." Temari barked. "I know they're in town, but _where_ in town?"

Kankuro sniffed.

"How the heck am I supposed to know?"

That answer was rewarded with a whack on his head from the blonde.

"It's only because of your idiocy that we're in this mess in the first place!" She exploded, fed up from traveling with her brother for so long.

"What the heck are you talking about?" He cried, rubbing his still sore head. "It was your idea in the first place to go after Gaara even after we were pulled off the case."

Temari sighed, crossed her arms, and then looked to the sky.

"You just don't get it, do you?" She questioned, an air of authority over her. "What happens to people the prince no longer needs?"

"Oh, that's easy. He gets rid of them." He answered; proud that he knew the answer.

But one piercing glare from his sister told him that maybe he shouldn't be.

"That's right," she continued. "And that's exactly who we were when we were pulled off the case: people no longer needed by the prince."

Kankuro took a moment to take it all in, and then chuckled nervously.

"Sasuke wouldn't kill us…"

"Oh no?"

Kankuro gulped, he knew the answer to that question too.

"The only way to save ourselves is if we redeem ourselves." Temari went on. It seemed as if she had been planning this for a long time.

"And the only way to redeem ourselves is…"

"To capture Gaara…" Kankuro finished, returning to his usual serious demeanor.

"I guess so, but… If we couldn't capture him last time, what makes you think that we can capture him this time, and with only the two of us?"

The blonde smirked, for she knew something her brother didn't. Then again, she knew a lot of things he didn't.

"I know his weakness now."

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoox

"Over here, cherry blossom!" A drunken man called over the music and racket in a sing-song voice, waving his cup of sake in the air.

"Gimme some more sake?" He continued to pester, pressing his face closer to Sakura's.The man's thick stench of sake wafted up to Sakura's nose, but she gulped it down as she plastered on a dazzling smile.

"Why, anything for you, nii-chan!"

Sakura pulled out a sake bottle and tipped the liquid into the man's cup.

"Whoops!" Sakura let the bottle slip from her hand, and as she tried to grab it again, she ended up falling on top of the man.

Giggling, Sakura faked a blush.

"Oh my, nii-chan. I'm terribly sorry."

While Sakura continued to super-flirt with the men, the headmistress watched from the shadows.

She chuckled, amazed by how quickly this girl had learned the art of being a geisha.

"Good job Sakura. At this rate, you'll pay off the Golden Daffodils in no time." Kurenai murmured to herself as she continued to watch the girl.

Her range was great; she could have a deep conversation with the older men about politics, or sing a gay song for the younger ones.

It surprised Kurenai how much this girl knew, like singing and poetry.

_"There must be a reason for that…" _The headmistress pondered, while her ever-watchful eyes followed Sakura from the dark.

"No matter," She concluded. "As long you don't cause any trouble, I'll keep you in my house."

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Hurry up, Hinata!" Sakura called back as she rushed down the corridor that led to the infirmary room where Gaara was supposed to be.

"Slow down, Sakura! You'll rip your kimono!"

"Oh, who cares about the kimono?!" She called back. _Especially when seeing Gaara is more important._

"I care." A sudden voice startled Sakura to jump.

Out stepped the headmistress from the shadows, wearing yet another kimono than this morning.

"Don't forget, you're working for me. So if you break something that I own, it'll come out of your paycheck." She warned, pointing a finger at her.

Sakura waved the finger away, before asking.

"Did Gaara wake up yet?"

Kurenai shook her head solemnly.

"We went to feed him the antidote around noon, we didn't expect him to wake up just then, and he didn't. I went to check up on him just now, but he hasn't stirred."

Sakura's heart sunk.

"Does that mean…"

"No, no." Kurenai waved. "The antidote works, just give him some time." She reassured.

But Sakura stood there, her face downcast, not in the least reassured.

Kurenai rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"Don't worry," She instructed. "I know that your Gaara would never leave a pretty girl like you all alone in this world."

Sakura smiled at this.

The girls at the geisha house had gotten the idea that Gaara was her lover.

_I guess I can see where they got that idea, but still…_

"Can I go see him now?" Sakura asked, peering up at the headmistress through her eyelashes.

Kurenai nodded and stepped out of the way, allowing Sakura and Hinata to continue down the hall.

As the pink-head passed Kurenai, the woman pulled Hinata away.

"Sakura can go, but you I need to have a talking to."

"I-Is something wrong?" She whispered, her voice shaking.

The headmistress sighed.

"You need to calm down, Sayuri. I just need to talk to you about your customer today, at the teahouse."

Hinata's mouth took the shape of an 'o', and she nodded.

Turning around, Hinata called to the pink-haired girl who was looking back at them.

"You go ahead, Sakura. This'll only take a minute."

Sakura nodded, and continued to shuffle down the corridor.

It was amazing how hard it was to move in the kimono and high-heeledsandals.

Finally, she arrived at the room where Gaara was staying.

She turned the knob, and pushed open the door.

She wasn't expecting to be greeted by a cold gust of air as she did, but the chilly wind wrapped around her form and blew back her loose bun as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

She found the source of the breeze; it was coming from the balcony across the tiny, white room. The only white room, Sakura realized, that she's ever seen in the geisha house.

The glass doors to the balcony were flung wide open, its translucent drapes drifting in the draft.

Next to it on the right side was a white curtain sheet, like the ones you see in hospitals that separate the patients.

Sakura assumed that Gaara was behind there, and silently approached it.

Peering over it, Sakura saw a clean, white bed.

But no Gaara.

There was no hint that a redhead had ever been there.

Sakura frowned, and then turned to scan the room.

Nothing.

Turning back to face the bed again, she hoped that maybe somehow she had just overlooked Gaara, that the light was playing tricks on her, and that the redhead was still lying peacefully on the bed.

Nothing.

Sakura panicked.

Did something happen to him?

Did those two men, Zabuza and Haku, somehow find him?

_I've gotta go get help!_

Sakura turned to leave, and stretched out her hand to reach for the door when…

"Sakura?"

The pink-haired girl froze.

She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

Whipping around, Sakura made out a silhouette, standing on the ledge of the balcony, the drapes concealing the persons' face.

But she didn't need to see the face to know that this person was in fact Gaara.

The next few moments were a blur to her.

She remembered her heart pounding.

Her head spinning.

Then she was enveloped in warmth as she fell into Gaara's strong embrace.

She could hear the steady thumps of Gaara's heart.

Then…

Sakura blinked, realizing what she did.

She hastily pushed away from Gaara and stepped back into the shadows nervously.

"S-Sorry…" Was all she was able to conjure up as she felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

She had run across the room to meet the redhead, and without thinking, wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"It's fine." Came the steady reply of the redhead.

His voice sounded tight, like he was trying to hide something.

Looking up, Sakura found that Gaara's sea-foam green eyes were watching her every move, glinting in the dark as they did.

In that split second their eyes met, Sakura felt a jolt of electricity rush through her body, making her feel light-headed.

"Are you alright?" Gaara asked, his tone skeptical; like the ones you use when you ask someone, "You're not sick are you?" in hopes that you don't get the disease.

Sakura blinked, feeling a bit offended. Gaara had never used that kind of voice on her before.

"Are you?" Sakura retorted, only a moment later did she realize how insulting her tone had sounded; she covered it up by saying, "I mean, you were out for a few days."

Gaara looked away into the distance.

"Yeah…"

The pink-haired girl tilted her head.

_Gaara is acting strange…_

"Gaara…" Sakura began.

The redhead looked at her with an emotionless face.

"Tell me what's happening."

Gaara looked away yet again.

"Gaara, please tell me. I don't understand, and I want to help."

"Even if you did understand, you wouldn't be able to help." Gaara replied dully, as if he's said it a million times before.

"I know that I can, somehow, please Gaara…"

Sakura stepped out into the moonlight closer to the redhead. That was when Gaara frowned.

"Sakura…why are you…?"

"Hmm?" Sakura looked down at herself to see her elaborate kimono. She's already gotten used to it, but obviously Gaara missed out on the memo.

"Oh…yeah…about that…"

Gaara frowned deeper.

"Sakura, what did you do?"

The girl avoided the redhead's piercing gaze.

"Nothing big. I just, you know, went and got myself this pretty kimono and sorta became a geisha…"

"Sakura!" The redhead cried. "W-Why?"

"Because…" The girl let her head hang down. "I wanted to help you. I _needed_ to help you. It was the only thing that I could do…"

Gaara remained silent, as if deep in thought.

"So what did they promise you? My antidote for your body?" He asked flatly, with a hint of bitterness.

"No, they…" Sakura blinked. "How did you…"

"I know that I'm poisoned." Gaara informed the girl. "I can feel it coursing through my veins."

Sakura frowned as a pang of guilt hit her. _It must be awfully painful if you can actually _feel_ it in your body. That would have been me…_

The girl wanted to say something that would comfort the redhead, anything to make him smile. But instead, another thought popped into her mind as she realized that she could use this to her advantage.

It wasn't right, she felt. But it was what was best for Gaara.

"Gaara, I know that you've saved me thousands of times. And at your own expense too. Besides, I'm already dragged into this mess, so keeping me in the dark isn't going to help me. So, please, tell me what's happening, so I can help you."

Gaara remained silent; he wasn't going to give up without a fight.

_Good._ Sakura thought. _Because neither am I_.

"Look at me," Sakura fanned open her arms, mimicking Kurenai. "I've become a geisha so I can pay off my debt to you. The least that you can do is telling me what I want to know."

The girl stared intently at the redhead, silently wishing that he would cooperate.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Gaara sighed, admitting defeat.

But instead of talking to Sakura right a way, the redhead turned, jumped onto the ledge, and dashed onto the tiled roof.

Sakura looked on after the redhead, sighing as she did.

How was she supposed to get up there?

Unyielding, however, Sakura pulled off her high-heeled sandals, gathered up her kimono, and scampered onto the ledge.

It was harder than it looked, especially when you're wearing tons of silk on your back.

She found several footings that she could use on the wall beside her, and climbed onto it clumsily.

Hoisting herself up over the edge of the roof, she supported her entire body on her hands.

Huge mistake.

Just when she was about to swing her legs over, she heard a crack.

Then she fell.

Dragging down with her the few tiles that she had broken beneath her weight.

Sakura yelped, imagining the feel of the cold stone beneath her back as she fell.

And then she heard a whoosh.

Time seemed to slow as Sakura saw the redhead appear suddenly before her, his strong arms supporting her body against him.

They landed gracefully, as if they were made of nothing but lace and air, on the ledge of the balcony.

Gaara's face remained emotionless, but Sakura found a glimmer of mirth twinkling in his eyes.

"What would you do without me?" He whispered; his voice full of mischief.

Sakura smiled.

Half of her was so relieved that one: Gaara had caught her, and two: he seemed to have returned to his normal self.

But the other half of her was numbed.

Completely numbed with the fact that Gaara was touching her.

The feel of his strong arms around her made her entire body both hot and icy at the same time.

She lost track of time as her eyes were drawn and then locked onto Gaara's intense eyes almost hypnotically.

She could think of nothing else, only how unfathomable Gaara's jade eyes seemed.

So beautiful the way his hair draped over his face.

Sakura's eyes flickered to Gaara's lips.

Her hearted pounded in her chest so much that she was sure her heart was moving her entire body.

She couldn't think.

Her mind was a blank.

She felt Gaara's warm breath on her cheeks as he drew closer, his eyes never leaving hers.

Gaara subconsciously tilted his head, and draped his eyes shut.

Sakura's lips tingled with anticipation.

_**SNAP!**_

Gaara's head whipped back up and scanned fiercely with his eyes on their leafy surroundings.

He found nothing that could have made the sound, yet he was already unnerved.

He picked Sakura up bridal-style, and bounded up to the roof, landing ever so lightly, even when carrying a girl.

Gaara set her down gently, and settled in for a seat himself.

"No one can hear us up here." He concluded, showing no sign whatsoever for what was about to happen just moments ago.

"Plus, the view is much nicer here." He said as he turned his head toward the sky.

Sakura, too dazed to say anything, just turned her head dumbly toward where Gaara was looking.

"…" Sakura's eyes widened.

"W…Wow!!"

The girl, now completely engrossed in the beauty of the luminescent moon, seemed to have forgotten all about what was happening moments before.

"It's…It's the size of a house!" She gaped, trying to take in the very mass of the moon.

Its lustrous beams seemed to radiate off of it and seemed to be showered upon the shadowy world below.

Sakura sighed. "It's so beautiful…"

"Yeah…" Gaara agreed.

Blinking, Sakura turned her head to look at Gaara to see that he was staring intently at the moon.

_"Hmm…I guess he was talking about the moon…" _She thought, with a little hint of disappointment.

"Anyway," Sakura said as she brushed her thought away. "I do believe we came up here for a reason."

Gaara's eyes glazed over, and his face darkened into a solemn demeanor.

"You really want to know?" He asked with a hazy voice.

Sakura scrutinized Gaara.

_Do I really want to know?_

The pink-haired girl put on a determined expression.

_This is the only way I can help Gaara…It's the least that I can do after everything that he's done for me…_

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "I really want to know."

"No turning back," Gaara pressed on. "After I've told you everything."

Sakura smiled at this.

"As long as you're there, I won't want to turn back."

Oh how she wished she could say it, but all she could manage was a nod as a slight blush crept into her face.

The redhead sighed, and then positioned himself into a more comfortable position.

"For as long as I could remember, I was always alone." Gaara began with a distant look on his face.

"But I do remember once, a long time ago, when I had felt wanted. To an extent anyways. And that was in my hometown, Suna, the Village of the Sand."

"I was different from the others, however, and was often secluded. But my father often reminded me that a village stood together, no matter what."

"Then came that faithful day, while I was playing in the sand dunes, I saw a thin grey line across the horizon. At first I had thought that maybe it was just a herd of animals, a mirage, or a sand storm. But as I waited and stared, I realized that it was none of those things. It was in fact, an army."

"I rushed to warn my village, but no one believed me. They shooed me away, or looked at me like I was diseased."

"It wasn't until the alarum-bell had rung did the people finally realize what was happening."

"But by then, it was too late."

"Even though I was still just a young child, I was a skilled fighter. So I stayed and fought along side the soldiers of my village."

"But…" Gaara's voice diminished into a mere whisper.

Sakura heart leapt.

She couldn't bear to see Gaara cry.

But he didn't, and eventually went on.

"The only ones left in my village were my family. Then out stepped Prince Sasuke, the one leading the army, and he confronted me."

"'Do you want to live?' He had asked me. I gave him no answer. 'Join me, and I'll spare your life.' My parents then fought against Sasuke with all their might. Back then, I didn't understand why they fought so, I still don't quite understand now…"

Gaara sighed.

"It came to the point when they could fight no more, and both my parents were on their knees. Not begging for mercy, just from exhaustion."

"Sasuke then ordered Zabuza and Haku to finish what he had started. And they did…in the most gruesome way possible…"

Sakura gulped, she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the rest of the story anymore.

"Next Sasuke dragged out my brother and sister, then, laying a knife against their bare necks, he asked me again. 'Join me, or they die.'"

Gaara stopped, as if reflecting on his past, and then continued.

"Of course, I joined. Remember back at the inn, when we were attacked by the ninjas?" Gaara redirected his words.

Sakura nodded slightly as the memory flooded back to her.

"Well, the boy wearing the black hood, and the girl with the blond ponytails? They're my siblings."

Sakura began to nod, when she stopped.

"Wait, you're telling me that the people who tried to kill you…are your siblings?"

Gaara remained silent, which was all Sakura needed for her question.

The girl sighed, rubbing her face with her hands.

"Wow…"

Gaara continued.

"After we joined Sasuke, he pulled me aside to do special training."

Sakura looked to Gaara with an inquiring look.

"Special training?"

"Yes," Gaara paused.

"Remember when I told you that Sasuke was after me because he wants something from me?"

Sakura nodded, not sure where this was going.

"Well, that's why he's after me now, and that's why he attacked my village and slaughtered my family."

The pink-haired girl frowned.

"Gaara," Sakura whispered. "What does he want from you?"

"I…I have something in me…that sets me apart from everyone else…that something is what Sasuke wants…"

"Gaara," Sakura murmured more intently, staring deep into Gaara's face. Feeling her gaze, the redhead turned to return the keen stare.

"What's inside you?" She whispered; her voice barely a hum in the whispery breeze.

Gaara set his jaws; he's been preparing for this.

"I have inside me…"

Sakura waited.

Gaara sighed.

"The God of Earth."

* * *

**Ta-Da-Da-Daaaa!! WOOOO! Cliff hanger you guys! Dont you just LOVE cliff hangers, cause I know I DO!! XP  
This little chappie took a REALLY long time because its actually NOT a little chappie.  
ITS HUGE!!  
14 pages to be exact. : D  
So in conclusion, and in payment of this fanfic, I now request at least 14 reviews from you-eth.  
If thou canst do-est as I hath said-eth, I shall take a vacation, -wink wink-  
Or you could just introduce this story to some of your friends, that would be nice too. : D  
My friend will BEAT YOU UP, if you-eth don't do-eth!**

**Anyways, more answers WILL be answered in the next chappie, so no worries there!  
hahaha**

****

xoxox  
Don't be lazy!

ps: guess what? My question marks and apostrophes don't work, I've been copying and pasting this ENTIRE TIME!!  
So pity me! or my friend will beat you up, and I shall laugh!  
Bwhahahaha


	9. Chapter 8

**Haha! Wasn't this one quick? And only because you guys all chipped in and gave me the reviews! TYTY!! -kisses hugs-  
-throws cookies-  
I know you like cookies!**  
**So I hope you guys enjoy this chappie...and well...yeah...**

* * *

Sakura blinked.

That is, before she completely freaked out.

"Whoa," Sakura flickered her eyes, waving her hands before her face. "You lost me at 'what's inside me is…'."

The redhead chuckled and looked down at himself.

"I had hoped that I would never have to tell you…or anyone for that matter."

Sakura examined Gaara's face.

_I guess that explains how Gaara can control the earth and everything…but it's just not possible. I mean, the gods don't really exist…do they?_

But what was _more_ important was the fact that maybe this could answer another one of her questions, one that has to do with herself.

"Gaara,"

Sakura spoke up with her voice tight. "If, supposedly, you have the 'god of earth'," Sakura created quotation marks in the air. "Inside you, what…"

Sakura's body tingled once more as that particular memory back at the lake drifted back into her mind.

"What does that mean for me?"

Gaara gazed intently at the geisha as he sucked in his breath and let it out.

His eyes held such knowledge, knowledge begging to be shared.

The redhead knew something the girl didn't.

But then he looked away.

"It's too soon for you to know."

"But you know, don't you?" Sakura questioned. "You know what happened to me?"

"Yes." Was the lame reply of the redhead, who refused to say anything more.

Sakura sighed then, before boldly standing up.

The redhead, bearing a startled expression, looked up at the now standing pink-head.

"What? You're leaving now?" He asked; his voice a split between dry-humour and bitterness.

It showed pretty clearly that he was hurt, even though he had done quite a good job of hiding that fact.

"No, you silly." Sakura replied; trying with all her might to make it look like what she was doing was a breeze, when in fact, she's never done anything harder than balancing on the railing of a roof.

Finally, after reaching the redhead, Sakura plopped down beside him, chuckling a little.

"Piece of cake." She bragged.

Who knew that karma struck back so quickly?

Because no sooner had those words left Sakura's mouth, did her feet slip over her silk kimono, which had draped itself underneath her, and she began a one-way trip down the roof-slide express.

_Yippee._

"Tsk." Came the steady reply of the redhead, who had, yet again, appeared before Sakura to stop her from plummeting to her death.

"You enjoy toying with your life, don't you?"

Sakura suppressed a giggle.

"Most fervently."

Gaara smiled, "I never took you for a dare-devil." With that, he sat down at the edge of the roof, leaving his legs dangling in the air.

Sakura followed suit, "Livin' life by the edge, that's my motto."

Gaara continued to smile, while Sakura was perfectly content with just looking at that rare smile of his.

_He should smile more often…_

But as a thought dawned upon the redhead, his smile slowly diminished, leaving a very disappointed geisha on the roof to mope.

"Sakura…" He began.

"Hmm?"

"Do you…" He struggled to find the right words. "Think I'm a…freak?"

Sakura blinked.

"Why would I ever think that about you, Gaara?" The geisha demanded, sounding appalled.

The redhead looked to the geisha to find that her eyes held no lies. They told him that Sakura did not think of him as a freak, or ever would for that matter.

But that's what puzzled him.

"I mean, I have something _inside_ me."

Sakura smiled as a thought protruded into her mind.

"As long as it's not a baby, then I'm fine with it."

The geisha started to laugh at her own joke, to find that the redhead was just staring blankly at her.

_Oops._

The girl began to open her mouth to apologize for her rude behavior, wanting to say that she's been hanging around geishas and drunken men too much.

But Gaara beat her to it.

"Oh, so if I did have a baby in me, _then_ you would think I'm a freak?" The redhead raised one of his nonexistent eyebrows.

This time it was Sakura's turn to stare.

But her mind quickly whirled back into motion as her lips curled into a grin.

"Of course. I mean, let's face it. Men carrying babies…" Sakura leaned in closer to whisper the last few words. "That's just not normal."

Gaara chuckled.

The sound of his mirth was music to Sakura ears.

"All jokes aside," The redhead continued, returning to his usual serious demeanor. "What's inside me is to be taken seriously. Especially now that I've been weakened…"

With that, the redhead trailed off, his eyes claiming a distant look.

"What does that mean? 'Now that I've been weakened…'?"

"It means that I don't have as much strength to control my god of earth. It means that if I'm not careful, things could get out of hand…"

The pink-haired girl thought for a bit.

"Gaara, I still don't quite understand." Sakura interrupted the boy's own thoughts. "After all, you've only told me half of the story."

Gaara sighed.

"You've heard of the four Gods, haven't you, Sakura?"

The girl nodded, prepared to explain what she knew of the four Gods.

_Of course I've heard of the four Gods, the country worships them for Pete's sake._

"There's the God of wind, earth, fire, and water, each one with different features and characteristics."

"It's also said that because the four Gods fought each other far too often, the mortals below could never have a moments rest."

"That's why, for their own good, and for the mortals' sake, the God of fire burned all of the Gods, including himself, in its rebirthing fire."

"The rebirthing fire reincarnates anyone or anything it touches. With this fire, the fire God reincarnated all of them into the form of humans."

"Some monks say that these humans _are_ the Gods. Others say that the Gods are trapped inside the humans unwillingly."

"Correct," The redhead nodded with approval, pleased by the vast knowledge of the geisha. "And that's what Sasuke is after, the power of the four Gods."

Sakura remained silent to take the information in.

"So that's why he's after you, he wants the power of _your_ God." The geisha concluded.

"Yes…" Was the solemn reply Gaara.

The geisha sighed.

"But…" Sakura paused. "Sasuke had you. You were in his grasp. How come he didn't kill you then?"

Gaara smiled bitterly.

"Because he still needed me. I was still of use to him. But I knew that even though he gave me the finest luxuries and trained me to become the strongest; I knew that one day he would no longer need me. One day he would kill me and take my power for himself."

"I remember," The redhead continued. "Eight years ago, I was sent by Sasuke to scout a town near the forests for any rebellious natures. He knew that people hated him, and there were rumors spreading around about a rebellion that was forming against him."

_Yes,_Sakura nodded. _I remember Tsunade talking about the rebellion once. And I remember how she approved of it…_

"So that night, I scouted. But I didn't find anything out of the ordinary. That is except for the fact that the town was holding a festival."

"That night…"

Gaara gazed up at the moon; his expression so weary and full of painful memories.

"I had decided to end my own life."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

She didn't know why, but the thought of the redhead dying was just too…

"Living in the shadow of that cruel prince was more than I could ever bear to imagine, and I knew that I would die anyways, so I might as well die with dignity…"

The redhead stopped, reflecting back on what he was going to do that night.

This left Sakura's imagination to do all the work.

_How depressing._

"But then, I heard crying."

Gaara's lips twitched into a soft smile.

"Somehow, the cry drew me to it. And I obediently followed."

The redhead chuckled.

"It led me to a little girl, bawling her eyes out at the end of the road."

"At that time…" The boy turned to gaze at Sakura then.

"At that time something had clicked inside me. And suddenly I knew that I wasn't alone in this world. That I wasn't the only one who was suffering in this world."

Gaara's voice shrunk into a mere whisper.

"The way you had clung to me, the way you slept in my arms. You made me feel wanted, needed."

The redhead looked away completely, hiding his face from the girl.

"…"

Sakura was near tears.

Who would've thought those eight years ago, on that night when she whisked away, she would meet the redhead who was near to ending his life?

At that moment, Sakura realized how precious life truly is.

"Gaara…?" Sakura reached out her hand tentatively and laid it on the redhead's shoulder.

The boy turned, his eyes gleaming.

"You say that I saved your life, and that you owe me. But the truth is, that night, so many years ago, on the day we met…"

Gaara smiled a smile that shamed everything beautiful in the world.

"You saved my life, Sakura."

The geisha couldn't help it as her tears fell down her cheeks.

I mean, who could after you've just received such a speech?

"And that's why I have to do everything I can to protect you, just like the way you protected me…even if it was subconsciously done."

Sakura forced a smile as she briskly wiped her tears away.

"You idiot…"

"And so I returned to Sasuke, telling him that the town was normal. I would continue to live. And I hoped that one day I would meet you again."

"And the chance came for me when I could eight years later. You have no idea how happy I was to hear that I would go back there again…"

"…That is until I heard that I was supposed to kill you."

Sakura blinked.

And blinked.

_Wait a second…_

"Somehow the prince had attained information that the noble's house in that town was a hideout for rebels."

"But," Sakura cut in. "That not possible. If we were hiding rebels, I would know about it, I mean, I _live_ in the house."

Gaara looked pleadingly at the girl.

"I don't know if it was true, or if it was just another one of the prince's get-rich-quick-schemes, but I do know that you don't question him. And you do as you're told."

Sakura stared.

"What are you saying, Gaara?" She whispered, half afraid to know the truth.

Silence.

"I'm…sorry, Sakura."

The girl frowned.

"What are you saying, Gaara?" She repeated.

Silence.

"Tell me what you're saying?!" The girl shook the redhead by the shoulders, desperate to know what he was trying to say.

"I…I was sent, along with a few other ninjas, to carry out the job. Once we arrived there, they carried out the plan as they were supposed to."

"But I entered the house, searching, ever hoping, that maybe somehow, you had managed to survive."

"And you did. If you still remember, I had found you, crying, just like the last time I found you."

"And well…" Gaara paused. "You pretty much know what happens from there on in."

Sakura froze; her body stiff with rage.

"So you're saying," The girl's voice shook as she spoke. "That you could've saved my family, and yet, you didn't?"

Gaara blinked.

This was most definitely not the reaction he was expecting.  
**(Author: What did he expect? Her to jump for joy? Geeze…men…)  
(Editor-san: LOL no truer words have been spoken xDDD)**

"Sakura…" The boy tried reaching for her.

"No!" The geisha exclaimed, tired from hearing such disheartening stories as she pushed away from the redhead.

"You're saying that even though you could've gone ahead to warn my family, that you could've stopped the ninjas you were traveling with, that you could've refused the prince, you didn't!"

New hot tears stung at Sakura's eyes.

"No, instead you just decided to stand by and watch as those _murderers_ burned my home, my family, and everything that I ever held dear to my heart! How could you?! How?!"

The tears now rolled down Sakura's burning cheeks as that ever familiar feeling of blind rage built up inside her.

"Sakura, stop!" Gaara tried reaching for the girl again, only to have his hand smacked away.

"Why didn't you save them, Gaara? Why?!" The geisha prodded her teary eyes at the redhead.

Sakura couldn't think anymore, her mind was fogged with rage and confusion.

The one who was considered her saviour, was the one who actually put her into this mess in the first place?

Gaara said something, something urgent.

But Sakura couldn't hear.

The geisha gritted her teeth.

She felt pain.

And not just the ever constant pain and sorrow in her heart, but actual scorching pain as it throbbed its way across Sakura's skin.

_Oh no._

The burning pain pulsed across her shaking body as Sakura grimaced.

_Is it happening again?_

Sakura dimly realized the fact that Gaara was yet again trying to reach for her, and even though it hurt her terribly to move, she brushed his hands away.

Not out of anger this time, this time she just didn't want to hurt him.

Sakura cried out in agony as flames began to dance across her skin. The tears that fell from her evaporated the moment it touched her flesh.

And then it happened.

Comforting arms wrapped itself around Sakura.

Gaara's arms.

"No! Don't touch me! Get away!" The pink-head struggled to free herself as she felt her fires intensify.

But it was not use. The harder she struggled, the tighter Gaara's hold became.

"I don't want to hurt you…"

But Gaara's arms only tightened as he pulled the girl closer into his embrace.

He felt the flames licking at his clothes and skin, but he didn't care.

So there, in the redhead's arms, Sakura wept.

She felt so safe in those arms.

She felt that if she were to die right then and there, she would be content.

Now she no longer felt anger as a serene calm overtook her.

One by one the fire weakened into mere sparks until they were nothing more than a warm glow upon Sakura's skin.

Her body sizzled, the way fires sizzle when you splash water on them, and wisps of steam drifted away from her.

Sakura sighed as she clung onto Gaara's shirt, amazed that she had survived her ordeal.

He felt so cold compared to what she had just gone through.

But she felt comfortable there all the same, glad for some relief from the heat.

"Feeling better?" The redhead asked as he kept an ever secure clasp around Sakura.

The girl sniffed, and nodded awkwardly into his shirt.

Gaara smiled.

"That's good."

Slowly, and carefully, Sakura pushed away from the boy's chest as she gazed up at him.

The girl gasped inwardly as she saw that Gaara's face was covered in soot.

"Gaara! Are you hurt?"

The geisha reached up to touch his face, checking for any burns.

"I'm fine."

Gaara replied as he tenderly brought Sakura's hand down.

"My sand protected me."

The pink head gazed at the redhead for a few moments.

"What's happening to me?" She trembled as new tears threatened to fall.

"There are two ways to unleash the power of your god. One, the most common one, is through anger."

"The other one depends on the god itself."

Sakura smiled bitterly.

"So I _do_ have a god inside me after all."

Gaara remained silent.

"I was hoping that I didn't need to tell you. Seeing how the first time you unleashed it was through a very traumatic event."

The redhead smiled as he poked the girl's forehead.

"I guess you just have a very fiery temper, just like your god."

"What about you?" Sakura asked innocently. "Don't _you _get angry?" Gaara scoffed.

"Of course I get angry. But I've been trained to keep my god in check. I guess I'm gonna have to start training you too. We wouldn't want another incident like this to happen again."

Being completely worn out, Sakura dropped her forehead against Gaara's chest.

This action took the redhead back, and his body tensed in response.

No one had ever acted so intimate with him before.

Then again, they _did_ just hug a moment ago.

"How did you do that?" The girl whispered, already half asleep.

"Do what?" The boy whispered back, careful not to startle the girl.

"Make me stop. You know, make me not angry anymore…"

Gaara paused for a bit.

"No reason."

_Such a big, fat lie._

But Sakura let it go, for she felt unbelievably tired.

"I'm just gonna go…_yawn_…and do…um…"

Gaara chuckled.

"It's alright Sakura. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

Oh, Sakura wasn't worried about that.

For she knew that no matter what happened, or where she was, Gaara will always be there to look after her.

With that reassuring thought tucked away into her mind, and the soothing movement of Gaara's chest heaving up and down, Sakura drifted peacefully into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**So there you have it! Did you guys like it?!  
Wah...  
I wanna try something...  
It's called "reverse psychology" O.o**

**Ok, listen here. No matter what you do, DON'T touch the review button.  
Hey, I'm not kiddin'!  
Don't go near that thing!  
Why is the mouse going over there?  
Don't click it! Don't DO it!  
Wait!  
Nooo!  
NOOOOOOO!**

did it work? XD  
Seriously though, REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW!!


	10. Author in Need

Hey Guys!  
I'm TERRIBLY sorry that this is taking so long  
And unfortunately, this isn't a chapter...

This is why I'M here!  
So you amazing people can help me overcome my **writer's block**!! (First one eva!!)

: DDDDDD

I'm in need of names for:  
The god of fire, water, and wind  
We all know that the god of earth's name is Shukaku

Also, if you guys have any special "hidden" moves for the god of water and wind,that'd be great!

Please keep in mind that I can't use all of the names that you guys give me...if any of you actually DO give me names...

PLEASE HELP ME!!

For the sake of the next chapter!!

: D  
Blahdeedah


	11. Chapter 9 Part 1

**YEAH!! Chapter nine is in Da HOUSE! Woot Woot WOOT!  
I would like to thank all these WONDERFUL people for dragging me through the bottomless pit that is known as a writer's block! XD**

Sabaku no Uchiha, BlackOnyx83, XxFlyleaf.FanxX, Desrt Rose, darklightningdevil, Akuma Chiai, Nyanonymous, Dark'sNightAngel, ShadowFoxAngel, denielle alto, A Flower and a Demon, Kinky-Nami-Lass

**I appologize if I've missed anyone, and I _especially_ appologize for not being able to use all of your WONDERFUL ideas! :(  
I tried to be fair by using first come first serve, but then I realized that wouldn't be fair to the people who still did all that work later on...  
So, as any other person would do when stuck in a pickle, I resorted to Eenie Meenie Mynie Moe! XD  
Seriously though, Thank you so much for all your help, and wow...all the moves are purtty cool, I must say.  
Finally, let me appologize once again for updating so late...  
I know I know...no no, trust me. _I know_.  
If you're wondering what that means...trust me...I don't know.**

* * *

_Cough._

_Cough._

_Cough._

_Cough, cough._

What the…?

_Cough…_

What's with all this smoke?

Sakura turned around to find that she was completely encircled by this airy substance.

She also realized that she was standing on black nothingness.

_Weird._

To be more specific, she was _surrounded_ by the black nothingness. And the only company she had was the smoke, which was not the most pleasant companion one could have.

_This must be a dream._

**I can assure you that this is no ordinary dream.**

Sakura blinked, startled by the sudden appearance of this crisp and clear voice that seemed to dominate the entire…nothingness?

The voice sounded like it belonged to a man's, with its tone caked with a suave and charming quality.

_Who said that?_

**I'm hurt that you don't know who I am.** The voice declared with mock hurt.

**After all, we've been neighbours since birth.**

_Neighbours?_

**Oh yes, the closest of neighbours, ones that don't live next to each other, but _in_ each other.**

Blink.

_Ok, you've __**completely**__ lost me._

There was a pause.

**You're not very smart are you?** The voice retorted bluntly.

**Let me put it this way, nice and slow so you can understand.**

_I'm just lost, I'm not mentally retarded. _Sakura snapped back, offended by this seemingly arrogant voice.

**Bah, same difference. What I'm trying to say is that you, girl, have got a lot of work to do.**

_What do you mean?_

**What else could I possibly mean?** The voice sounded exasperated.

Sakura blinked.

She quickly scanned her mind for what this voice could be talking about, but unfortunately, she found none.

Of course she wasn't going to admit it. Nobody wants to be called stupid twice.

_First things first. _Sakura slyly changed the subject. _Who are you?_

The voice sighed.

**Take a wild guess.**

Sakura sighed too.

It seemed like this voice wasn't about to tell her anything anytime soon.

So she thought.

Smoke, black nothingness, boomy voice, neighbours since birth…

Then something clicked inside her.

**That's it.** The voice sounded like it smiled.

But what was weirder was the fact that this voice seemed to know what Sakura was thinking.

_Are you…? _Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in suspicion.

**Am I…?** The voice pushed on.

_You are!_

**Say it loud and proud!**

_You're the God of Fire!_

**Great! That took you, what, only a few minutes to figure out. No worries though, we still have time to work on your intellect.**

Sakura seethed.

_You know that you weren't much help!_

**What'd you expect me to do?** He asked in the utmost innocence.

_Oh, I don't know. Maybe just tell me; straight out, whom __you were from the beginning._

The voice laughed.

**Now where would the fun be in that?**

Sakura shook her head.

_Aren't you supposed to be a god?_

The voice stopped in mid laughter.

**What's that supposed to mean?** He asked, sounding a little offended.

_I mean, aren't gods supposed to be all-knowing and serious and stern…_

**Honey, Wake up and smell the boysenberries. Not all the gods are the same, 'k? It's grouchy old Shukaku's job to be all serious and stern and boring…**

_Wait a sec. Who's Shukaku? _

**What, do I have to break into song and sing you a musical? Didn't you learn all of this stuff in school?**

_I'm a noble, not a nun. We nobles don't learn about religious things like this._

The voice gaped. It seemed like it was having a hard time comprehending the fact that people actually want to learn about things _other_ than gods.

**Huh? Then what do you learn in school if it's not about the greatest beings on earth?** He finished with a flourish of his voice.

Sakura just sighed.

_Oh just the usual, literature, math, science…for females like us we learn mostly sewing and dancing and whatnot._

There was a pause.

**Well that's idiotic. No wonder you humans are so stupid now a days.**

Sakura smiled.

_Can you just answer my question?_

**Alright, alright. Hold your horses. Shukaku is the god of earth. He's probably the…oh…third youngest. Me being the youngest of all the gods.**

_Care to elaborate?_

**Ha-ha, alright then. If you insist.**

The voice cleared its throat.

**Let's begin where all stories begin…in the beginning.**

Sakura just rolled her eyes.

**You know about the four gods, yes? There's Wind, the eldest. Water, the second eldest. Earth, the third youngest. And of course, the most magnificent of them all, moi, the youngest.**

Sakura tilted her head.

_I have a question._

**Already? The story hasn't even begun. I hate to think how many questions you would have when we actually go into the story.**

The geisha simply ignored the fire god and pushed on.

_In the legend, you were the one who reincarnated all of the gods, right?_

**Correct.**

_And you did so because you wanted the war between the gods to stop, and to save the humans._

**That's right. I'm a giver. Give, give, give, that's all I do.**

_Then how come…you're like…this?_

The triumphant tone the voice had held just moments ago quickly shriveled away.

**Ok, what the heck is that supposed to mean?**

_I mean, according to the legend, you're supposed to be this loving, generous, cares-about-the-humans-more-than-all-the-other-gods kind of god. And yet, here you are. Acting all I-only-saved-the-humans-so-I-can-be-better-than-all-the-other-gods._

**That's…totally…not true.** The god stuttered, trying to think of a better, wittier answer he could retort back to the human.

_Oh really? _The geisha crossed her arms.

_So you expect me to believe that you, who hailed himself as __**the**_ _most magnificent of all gods, who labeled himself as a __**total **__giver, is __**totally**__ not the kind of god who saves people just so he can be worshiped._

After finishing that incredibly long and sarcastic sentence in one breath, the girl puffed out air. Not really sure what she just did.

Silence.

_"…"_

Silence.

_Hello?_

**I'm ignoring you.** The god retorted with a sneer.

Sakura just laughed.

_Oh come on. I didn't hurt your feelings did I?_

**In this short period of time, you've already insulted me TWO times. I'm a god! You should respect me!**

_You live inside ME! _You_ should respect _me_!_

Silence.

**Whatever…** The fire god mumbled. **It's not like it's my choice to be in here in the first place…**

Sakura smiled triumphantly at nothing in particular.

_Now come on out, so I don't feel like a total freak talking to thin air._

**Oh, you don't have to worry about being a freak.**

Then he whispered.

**Because you already are one.**

_And all thanks to you._

The god began to laugh, only to realize, moments later, that she had just insulted him…again.

**Whatever. Besides, you, being a lowly human and female, wouldn't be able to withstand, let along bask, in all my glory.**

_Psh. _The girl flipped her hair. _Just come out. _

**Ok, ok, don't get your kimono in a knot. I'm comin'.**

There were a few moments of silence.

Then suddenly, Sakura felt the urge to close her eyes. She didn't feel dizzy or tired or anything, but a sudden great urge took over her, and the geisha closed her eyes obediently.

After the urge had passed, Sakura slowly lifted her eyelids.

_W-Wow!!_

Sakura was no longer surrounded by the vast darkness or the grey smoke.

Right now, she stood on lush green grass, its blades swaying gently in the light, warm breeze. The girl looked up to find Alice-blue skies frosted with cotton-white clouds. The field stretched on for as far as the eye could see with no other disruptions.

Somehow, this place brought Sakura a sense of peace and serenity.

Sakura sighed in contentment.

"Don't tell me _this_ is what you look like." Sakura spoke out, her voice returning to its normal clear resonance.

The geisha fanned out her arms, playing with the wind that tangled through her fingers.

"Nope. I look **much **better."

Sakura twisted around to find a singular tree rooted at the top of a grassy hill.

The tree, being the only tree Sakura saw in this strange place, was more wide than tall.

Its forest-green leaves reached out so it cast comforting shadows on the ground.

And leaning against the tree with his arms crossed, was a man.

This man was too far for Sakura to make out anything of his face. But from where she stood, the girl could tell that this man was probably in his late-twenties.He also had a tall and slender form that looked like it could easily sway in the wind just as the grass does.

Finally, after much deliberation, Sakura conjured up the courage to stride up the hill. With each step, the geisha could make out more of this man's features.

He was wearing a deep-grey trench coat, which he wore unbuttoned, with fancy ornamental straps hanging from the waistline. The sleeves to the coat were cut wide and billowed open to reveal crimson gloves that were worn all the way to the elbows.Black pants and top were paired underneath the coat to bring out the man's sculpted muscles.

But what startled Sakura the most as she approached this stranger was not his unusual clothing, but the way his eyes glinted wine-red in the shadows of the tree.

There Sakura stood, a few feet away from the tall plant, refusing to go any closer.

So there was nothing left to do but for this man to reveal himself by stepping out of the shade and into the sun.

The geisha's jaw dropped.

She hated to admit it, and she wasn't about to admit it, but this man, standing before her, was, by far, the most delicious eye-candy she had ever laid her eyes on.

His raven-black hair spiked out from the back of his head, while the hair near the sides of his face grew down elegantly down his chest.

But that wasn't the strangest part.

The strangest part was the fact that this man's bangs, which grew long and were side swept in a messy manner, were completely and totally snow-white.

His face...

_Sigh._

Need I say more?

His intense garnet eyes, framed by a pair of perfectly arched white eyebrows, glinted with mischief.

"Well?" He asked, his own voice losing that thunderous tone which had claimed the air earlier.

But from what Sakura could tell, this man's natural voice was indeed a very suave and charming one.

"Well what?" The geisha asked.

"Well, what do you think?" The man pressed on; fanning open his arms so she could get a better look at him.

And since his arms were no longer crossed over his chest, Sakura could tell that he was wearing several obsidian belts on his body. One was worn in its normal place; another one was worn across from his shoulder to his hip under his coat.Two more belts were worn loosely around his neck.

Sounds weird.

But looks surprisingly appealing.

And now at this close distance, Sakura could make out that his trench coat was in fact a very worn-out one. It almost looked like it had been burned and scorched in several places.Yet the way the fire had burned the fabric had somehow left behind intricate patterns on the jacket.Also, the fabric where it connected the sleeves to the bodice of the coat was falling off.

Several black threads were the only things keeping the sleeves from completely falling off, revealing the nicely toned muscles beneath the fabric through the treads.

In a way, it actually made the coat look better.

Maybe it was purposefully made like that…

Sakura sighed as she came to a conclusion.

She's concluded with the fact that no matter what this man wears, it will always look good on him.

Suddenly, the man's lips twitched into a cocky grin.

"What?" The geisha asked, wondering if this man was going to pounce on her in any given second.

"Oh nothing," The man replied as he nonchalantly checked his nails. "I'm just pleased that you think everything looks good on me."

Sakura froze.

Then she squinted her eyes suspiciously.

"How did you…?"

The man flashed another one of his mischievous, yet drool-worthy, grins.

The geisha's eyes widened.

"You can read my mind, can't you?" She ranted, pointing an accusing finger at the male.

The man just shrugged.

"It would make sense since I dwell inside you…geeze honey, try using your brain once in a while will ya?"

Sakura just sighed.

"I can't take much more of this…"

The girl turned back around, buried her face in her hands, and then plopped down on the grassy hill.

The man came to join her as he leisurely sat down beside her.

Then a thought zoomed through Sakura's mind.

But before she could even voice out her opinion, the man spoke up.

"Nope," He said, giving a side-ways glance to the geisha. "You can't read _my_ mind."

Sakura's eye twitched before she looked away in defeat.

"Where have you brought me anyways?" the girl asked as her eyes roamed over the fields.

"Just a place tucked away in the corners of my imagination."

Sakura eyed him skeptically.

"You created this?"

The man sighed.

"Why are you so surprised? I'm a god, aren't I? So stop underestimating my powers."

Sakura smiled.

"But this _is_ a dream."

The man just nodded, his expression taken over by boredom.

He began to play with something in the palm of his hands.

Fire.

That single kindle danced and manipulated its form as the man ran his fingers though it.

Sakura gazed on in awe.

"How did you do that?" She whispered, not really believing her eyes.

The man simply nudged his hand toward Sakura, urging her to take hold of this fiery form.

The girl eyed the fire as if it were moldy cheese.

"Are you sure?"

"Why ever not?" He retorted, his tone still dripping with boredom.

Sakura gulped.

She was curious to see what would happen, just like that day, many years ago, when she was curious to see what lay beyond the protective walls of her estate.

Reaching out both of her hands, she let her fingers surround the warmth of the fire, not daring to touch the actual form. But before Sakura could protest, the man swiftly pulled his hand from underneath the fire.

Sakura yelped, afraid that the fire would fall on the grass.

But it never did.

The blaze stayed intact in her hands as she cautiously cupped it.

Never once did the ember burn her skin.

Sakura smiled incredulously.

"W-wow…"

She began playing with her newfound toy, tossing the fire from one hand to the other.

The geisha was so engrossed in her activity that she didn't even notice how the other man was keenly observing her every move.

"You're still just a kid." The man sighed grimly.

Sakura stopped, letting the fire blaze in her cupped hands, as she turned to gaze at the man.

She's never heard him use such a solemn tone…

And why in the world would he suddenly say something like that?

As if answering the questioning eyes of the girl, the man continue to speak.

"The human bearing Shukaku is poisoned, am I right?"

Sakura frowned.

She had almost forgotten that he could read her mind.

So dismissing her earlier thought, Sakura nodded sadly, absentmindedly gazing at the ball of fire.

There was a moment of silence as the sound of the warm breeze brushed past the pair.

"Nara."

Sakura blinked.

"Huh?"

"Nara, the mountain Nara." The fire god repeated.

The girl tilted her head.

Mount Nara was a well-known mountain in this country, not only because it was the longest mountain that stretched on for miles and miles and miles, but also because it had a mystery behind it.

That mystery being whoever entered it, never came out.

"What about it?"

"That's where you can find the flower. The Silver Snowdrop."

Sakura's heart quickened its pace.

"R-Really? You mean, the flower really exists?"

The fire god scrutinized the girl strangely.

"_No, I was kidding_." The man retorted sarcastically. "Geeze honey, of course the flower exists."

Sakura clapped her hands with delight, forgetting about the little hitchhiker in her hands as the kindle was smothered out.

"I can't believe it! We're so close now!" Sakura's eyes sparkled as she turned to face the god.

"Where on the mountain?"

The man raised an eyebrow and gave her a look that said 'are you crazy?'

"How the heck am I supposed to know?"

The geisha's eyes slowly dimmed to a dull sheen.

"You mean…you don't know?"

The god scoffed.

"Of course I don't know. If you think all I do in my spare time is keeping track of a single flower, then you, girl, are seriously mistaken."

Sakura frowned deeply.

"You're saying that you have absolutely NO idea where the flower is?"

"I just told you," The man exasperated. "On Nara Mountain."

"_Where_ on Nara Mountain? WHERE?!"

The fire god drew away from the irritated girl.

"Geeze honey, no need to get all worked up over a flower…"

"It's not JUST a flower!" Sakura snapped, very much depressed that her newfound hope was crushed to bits in a mere few seconds. "It's the flower that can save Gaara's life! Don't you understand that? You're a god; can't you find where the flower is? Or better yet, heal Gaara directly?"

The man blinked stupidly, before turning away from the girl.

"It's not that simple…"

Sakura slumped hopelessly.

"Well, I've got all the time in the world here." She offered.

The god studied the geisha's face, before sighing in defeat.

"I guess I should start with my name…"

Sakura blinked.

That's right. She didn't even know his name yet.

"My name is Houkatakeru, and as you know, I'm the youngest of the gods."

The girl tried wrapping her mouth around the name, but failed miserably.

The man chuckled.

"Just call me Takeru."

Sakura nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"Also, because of my gift, I was able to reincarnate all of my brothers in my rebirthing fire, also known as the Kaen Kaijin."

"Your gift?" Sakura cut in, already drawn in deeply by Takeru's story.

"Yes," The man replied. "Every god has a different gift. Mine being the Kaen Kaijin. Shukaku, I believe, has the gift of 'Scrying', otherwise known as the DouKata no Me."

"Scrying?"

"It means you can see something without actually being there. With Shukaku, he can see through the earth."

Sakura tilted her head.

"But the earth is everywhere."

Takeru smirked.

"This means he can see everything."

The geisha shuddered.

To have someone see what you're doing 24/7 no matter where you are? Now that's a frightening thought.

"The god of water, who's known as Owatatsumi, has the gift of purifying life, known as Ameryuu no Junsui."

"And the eldest, Fujinokami, the god of wind, has the breeze of death: Kaze no Zetsumei."

Takeru paused for Sakura to soak all the information in.

The geisha simply blinked.

She knew that she wasn't going to remember all the names along with their "gifts", but she made a mental note to check out the library in the geisha house later.

The girl nodded. "Ok, so the introductions are made…now what?"

Takeru sighed.

"The celestial war between the four of us lasted for centuries. Crippling the humans and disrupting the way of life."

The man chuckled bitterly to himself.

"You would think that after a few centuries of fighting we would realize that gods can't kill one another."

Sakura frowned.

"You can't kill each other?"

Takeru shook his head.

"If we could, I wouldn't be here right now."

The girl's frown deepened.

"Ok…so what does that have to do with you not being able to heal Gaara or find the flower?"

Takeru sighed as he laced his hands at the back of his head, lying down on the grassy floor while he was at it.

"I can't heal your lover boy because Shukaku's in him; otherwise, I'd heal away!"

"I don't understand…" The girl fumbled, ignoring the "lover boy" comment.

The man sighed again.

He settled into the grass and blinked up at the lazy clouds.

"It's complicated…even I'm not sure what happened. But ever since after the war, we weren't able to heal one another. Perhaps it was because of the constant hatred that we held for each other, that finally, we just couldn't do anything that wasn't out of hatred to each other anymore…"

Takeru drifted off, closing his eyes and mumbled a few more words under his breath.

The geisha took this chance to linger on those solemn words.

"Then what about the flower? Why can't you find it?"

Without opening his eyes, Takeru continued to murmur.

"This flower isn't an ordinary flower. The Silver Snowdrop was created by some other being unknown to even us…"

"So that's why you can't find it?"

"_I_ might not be able to find it," The man yawned. "But that's where Shukaku's gift might come in handy."

The girl remembered vaguely about "Scrying" and "seeing through the earth".

With that thought, she smiled, and joined Takeru on the ground.

She had a sneaking suspicion that maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.

xoxox

"Sakura! Hey, wake up! Sakura!"

The pink-haired geisha stirred in her sleep, not in the least happy that someone was interrupting her slumber.

"Hmmm…" The girl moaned. "Go away…"

"Sakura, please! Lady Kurenai wants you!"

The geisha's eyes shoot open to find Hinata's worried complexion hovering over her.

"Wait…where am I?"

The ebony-haired geisha released a tiny smile.

"Gaara carried you to our room last night." Then her smile widened. "Just _what_ have you two been doing?"

Sakura fumbled.

"Nothing! What makes you think we were doing anything?"

Hinata just shrugged, bearing a small, and almost sly, smile on her lips.

"What can I say? You came back last night looking rather flustered…"

Sakura clasped the pillow that cushioned her head and launched it at her friend's face.

"Hinata!"

The inky-haired geisha giggled as she brushed the cushion aside.

"What else was I supposed to think? I am a geisha after all…"

Sakura sighed, the way a geisha's mind worked…

"Anyways," Hinata continued. "Kurenai wants to see you in her office."

"What for?" Sakura inquired as she pulled herself away from the elaborate mattress she laid on.

Hinata smiled.

"Only one way to find out."

xoxox

"Come in." Came the resolute voice after the rap on the door was heard.

Sakura opened the door and stepped into the blindingly red office.

There Kurenai sat, pipe in hand, scanning over a piece of paper. Without looking up, she began to talk.

"The annual Cherry Blossom Festival is being held in the geisha house in a few weeks." The woman wasted no time in petty introductions. "I want you to dance alongside Sayuri."

It took Sakura a few seconds to process the name Sayuri, whom she's come to know as Hinata.

"Why?" she peered, approaching the desk. "Hinata can manage the River Dance just fine without me. I would simply cripple her."

Kurenai looked up then.

"I don't want you to do Sayuri's dance." She answered exasperatedly. "We all know how bad your River Dance is. But despite that, you are still one of my most talented dancers. No, you'll be doing the Dance of the Cherry Blossoms."

Sakura thought about it for a bit.

She had to admit to the fact that she excelled in that particular dance, and she was quite eager to show off her skills.

"Alright," She agreed. "If I do this, you'll be able to get more flowers, right?"

Kurenai sucked her pipe.

"You girl, are going to run my business to the ground and leave my girls to the poor house."

Sakura smiled.

"I'll do my best, Kurenai, don't worry about that."

The woman nodded idly and waved the girl away, returning to her task of doing the paperwork.

Sakura silently slipped through the doors.

She wanted to see Gaara, but she remembered that she needed to check out the library for further information on the gods.

The girl licked her lips as she passed through the corridors littered with geishas.

So many things were happening that Sakura barely had time to slow down and catch her breath.

_"I didn't even have time to mourn for my family yet…" _

The girl slapped that thought away, pushing down the sudden tears that welled up in her eyes.

This was no time to cry.

This was no time to stop.

Right now, she had to focus on saving the one who saved her; Gaara.

* * *

**Ta-ta-da-DA!!  
And guess what? There's more! Yeah! That's right! This is just part one folks! Click the next botton for paarrrt TWO!  
**


	12. Chapter 9 part 2

****

Allo Allo! I felt bad for not updating for so long, so I shall give you zis as well!! :D  
Anyways, hope you enjoy it.

* * *

xoxox

"Yo, Temari! Check this out!"

The blond growled under her breath as she stood closer toward her brother.

"What?"

Kankuro twisted around to face his sister, bearing a humorous expression on his face.

"Look!" His brought his hands up for Temari to see, and there, on each of his fingers, were… "Finger puppets!" He wiggled his fingers, making the little puppets flail around in the air.

Temari sighed as she rubbed her temples.

Why Kami-sama? Why?

"Alright, listen up, Kankuro." The girl went on, dragging her brother away from the stand.

"I've already located where Gaara is, the only problem is…"

"What?" The boy mumbled through a rice ball.

Where did he get that rice ball?

Temari shook her head.

_I don't want to know._

"Where Gaara is…I can't exactly go…"

Kankuro blinked.

"Where is he?"

The girl scratched the back of her head.

How was she gonna say this?

"Well…um…Gaara is…"

"Gaara is…" Kankuro pressed on.

"Gaara is hiding at the geisha house." The blonde spewed out the information as fast as she could, not really believing herself what she had just said.

Kankuro gaped like a hooked fish.

"No way…"

Temari sighed.

Here we go…

"I never knew little bro had it in him!" He cried out, his voice full of pride for his little brother.

"Our little boy is finally growing up!"

"You do know what this means right?" The girl cut in.

Kankuro blinked. What was she talking about?

Then a thought dawned on his perverted mind.

"No way…" He gasped as the revelation finally hit him.

A small blush crept into his face as he narrowed his eyes mischievously.

"Too bad you can't tag along…"

A vein protruded from the girl's temple.

"As if I want to tag along!" Temari huffed as she dragged her brother by the collar in the direction of the geisha house.

"Just go in, find the girl, don't let Gaara see you, and get out." The blonde whipped around so she faced the dazed boy.

"Your job is to locate where the girl is, and nothing more, understand?"

It was no use.

Kankuro's mind had already drifted off to places where Temari knew it was best left untouched.

She sighed.

"Just try not to blow your cover, will ya?"

"Oh-ho! You don't have to worry about that, sis!" He rubbed his hands together as he swaggered toward the house.

"I'll blend in as if I was just a regular customer…"

The blonde's eye twitched.

Why Kami-sama? Why?

xoxox

The only thing that was heard in the library was the dry fluttering of paper against paper.

There she sat, the table piled with mountains of books, her eyes drilling intently into the inky words.

**Houkatakeru**

Meaning: Living Fire

Symbol: Phoenix

Gift: Kaen Kaijin (Blaze of Complete Destruction)

Sakura scratched her head.

But his gift wasn't complete destruction…it was a rebirthing gift…

The girl turned her attention to the book on her left.

Flipping through its pages, she came across the definition for the word "Kaijin".

Kaijin – ash, embers, complete destruction

Sakura rubbed her eyes.

_I guess that makes sense…_ The geisha thought. _Since the phoenix is reborn through its embers and ashes…_

The girl yawned.

She's been at this for several hours, but she wasn't about to stop, seeing how it was still early afternoon.

**Shukakutaku**

Meaning: Living Earth

Symbol: Raccoon

Gift: DouKata no Me (Living Earth: Scry)

Sakura nodded as she moved on to the next subject.

**Owatatsumi**

Meaning: Water Ruler

Symbol: Dragon

Gift: Ameryuu no Junsui (Purification of Life)

The geisha scanned the dictionary.

Ameryuu – Rain dragons

No – of

Junsui – Purity

And finally…

**Fujinokami**

Meaning: Wind Wolf

Symbol: Wolf

Gift: Kaze no Zetsumei (Breeze of Death)

Back to the dictionary…

Kaze – breeze, wind

Zetsumei – death

Sakura sighed.

After bombarding her head with facts and information on the gods, she wasn't sure if she was capable of thinking about other things anymore.

But this cramming session was most definitely worth it.

The pink-haired geisha closed her eyes as she rummaged through all the data she had gained from this morning.

The gods were fighting to be the ultimate ruler of earth.

And the only ones who were strong enough to withstand their constant conflict were Sakume Ryuchi, the Tree Goddess, and the Dark One, ruler of the underworld.

The Tree Goddess had sympathy for the humans, so she protected them from harm and taught them what they needed to know to survive.

The Dark One, on the other hand, was busy plotting away on how to take over the world, wiping out the gods while he was at it.

When Houkatakeru realized what was happening, he did the only thing he could do to stop the Dark One from wiping them out: he used his gift of the rebirthing fire.

Sakura paused to let her train of thought wonder off a tangent.

_So the real reason Takeru burned the gods was because he needed to save them. But to the humans below, it looked like he had burned the gods for their sake._

Sakura paused yet again to marvel at the brilliant way history had turned out.

She wondered, as her hand mechanically drifted toward the book in front of her, as to who wrote this book.

She turned the cover to find the name of a man as the author.

_Probably some monk's name._

So dismissing the thought, she prepared to jump back on her previous train of thought.

But a sudden notion protruded through her mind.

_Why did Takeru HAVE to reincarnate them? I mean, it's four against one…_

A sick feeling welled up inside Sakura's stomach.

_This "Dark One" must've been pretty powerful for Takeru to resort to his gift…_

The girl shook her head.

She didn't want to think about that now; after all, this incident happened centuries ago.

So the girl cleared her throat and returned to her task at hand.

Closing her eyes, the geisha continued.

Once they were all reborn, centuries had already passed, and the Dark One no longer knew where to find them.

So peace and harmony returned to the land.

Sakume Ryuchi was said to have disappeared after the Great War, but she promised that she would come back when the world needed her once again.

And as a token of her promise, it was said that she left behind something precious…

"Sakura-san!"

The pink head snapped out of her reverie as a sudden shrill voice rang out into the library.

"Yes?" The girl poked her head out of the wall of books.

And there, in the doorway, stood a maid.

"Please come to the front foyer quickly. Lady Kurenai is in need of you."

Sakura growled under her breath.Why is that woman always 'in need of her'?

"Alright, I'll be right there." The geisha stood up and dusted herself off.

Glancing at the books she was studying, she decided to leave them there, assuming she was coming back later.

Surely Kurenai wouldn't keep her for too long.

xoxox

"What took you so long, Sakura?" The woman demanded. "Hurry up! We have to make you look presentable for the dance."

Sakura blinked.

"…Wait…what?"

Kurenai sighed as she pushed the girl along the corridor.

"We'll walk and talk."

They were nearing the front foyer, but the woman turned down another hall instead of going straight.

This hall was absolutely packed with geishas in VERY scandalous attire.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked a little shakily.

They entered a dressing room, and the moment they did, Sakura was swarmed by people who started fussing with her hair and makeup.

Now, instead of its usual simple-yet-elegant bun, Sakura's hair rolled down her shoulders in volumnized curls.

The rest tugged off her elaborate kimono and hurriedly pulled on another dress, one that was pure white.

The upper bodice was done in a traditional Japanese crisscross, except it was worn so it bared her shoulders and showed a LOT of cleavage.

While the skirt, etched with cherry blossom tress, cascaded down loosely from the pink sash at her waist.

The sleeves were stitched tight in the forearm but fluttered freely as the hem of it draped across the wooden floor.

Sakura nodded with approval. Even though this dress was for geishas and showed a LOT of her skin, she had to admit that it was indeed a piece of work.

Then she blinked.

The girl craned her neck to see the dress more clearly.

This outfit was made of some cashmeric fabric. It was so light that if someone were to brush past you, the cloth would fluff up into the air and _stay_ there.

The fabric was also so thin that you could almost see through it.

The geisha gulped when she traced the outline of her long legs through the gossamer white cloth.

"Ok, what is going on?"

The girl placed her hands on her hips, an irritated scowl on her face.

She was just trying to hide the fact that she was shaken.

"No need to be scared, Sakura." The woman saw right through her pretence as she shuffled through a box full of different coloured fans.

"This is only a dance; no man will be allowed to touch you."

The pink head slowly breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Ok…So what exactly am I doing?"

Lady Kurenai pulled out a pair of light-pink fans and held it up against the girl's body.

"As you know, the Cherry Blossom festival is held in a few weeks. And as you know, you are dancing in that festival."

The woman continued to hold up different coloured fans against the girl's dress, trying to pinpoint which ones matched better.

"Yeah but, that isn't for another few weeks. So why do I have to dance now?"

"It's customary for the geisha house to give our customers a sneak-peak of the real deal." The woman winked toward the girl, no doubt implying some hidden geisha lingo**,** which Sakura was still not familiar with. So she settled for a nervous chuckle.

Kurenai had finally decided on a pair of fans.

Fiery red.

This spontaneous colour stood out oddly from Sakura's light facade, yet at the same time, it gave her a bold sensuality that was different from all the other geishas that stood in the hallway.

"Alright!" The woman declared as she pushed the girl into the hall. "Make us proud, Sakura!"

"I have to dance the whole thing?" The pink head looked over her shoulder.

"No, no," Kurenai waved the thought away. "You'll just be dancing the overture, the beginning."

The girl nodded as she paced down the hallway.

"Alright…but no more surprises like this, ok Kurenai?"

But the woman was no where to be seen, no doubt plotting her next move in her game of geishas.

xoxox

"And now presenting, from the beautiful girls of our very own geisha house, the one, the only, The Dance of the Cherry Blossoms!"

Music.

The soft stroke of the bow across the strings.

Flutes imitating the ghostly whisper of the wind.

Lights.

The girls became visible on stage as a dim yellow light showered over them.

The geishas flared open their massive fans, ruffling them slightly, all of them a delight in soft fuchsia.

Their arm movements were great and beautiful, but their tight kimonos barely allowed any body movement.

A pair of girls, who haven't moved since the beginning of the dance, held their large fans in front of them as they faced each other.

The music changed its mood.

The trickles of chimes were heard.

The pair of geishas withdrew their fans in a flourish, revealing none other than the pink-haired geisha clad in white.

Everything about her contrasted with the other girls on stage.

While the others where wearing a tight, and vibrantly coloured kimono, Sakura wore a light, and elegant dress that graced the floor as she glided across.

Then she danced.

Her movements were hypnotic and fluid, almost that of water. Yet there was a curious difference to the way she flicked her wrists and counted her steps that set this dance apart from water.

The entire lobby had claimed a silence as the many men gathered there were entranced by this untouched beauty.

"Wow…" A hooded man murmured under his breath.

This girl was good.

Too good.

No wonder Gaara was so keen on protecting her.

"Now that I think about it…" Kankuro scanned the room for signs of the redhead.

"Where is he?"

If the girl's here, Gaara should be near by too.

"Unless…"

Is it possible that Gaara ditched the girl here and left?

It would make sense, seeing how this girl had become a geisha…

"But…"

Gaara went through so much trouble for the girl; surely he wouldn't just leave her here after all of that.

Kankuro's gaze drifted back to the stage, where the pink-haired geisha continued to captivate every man.

The music came to an end.

And so did the dance.

There was a hushed silence, as if the crowd was waiting for more.

But the girl simply stood there, eyes downcast, her eyelashes creating shadows that charmed her cheeks.

Then the room erupted into applause.

The men cheered for more and pushed to get a better look at this maiden.

The geisha produced a blush.

"Our very own Sakura, the newest edition to our collection. Let's give her another round of applause!"

Kurenai had appeared on stage with her theatrical voice booming, her elaborate kimono billowing around her.

"So be sure to show up for the festival, folks, if you wish to see more of this talented young beauty!"

Sakura bowed her head like she was expected to, and prepared to leave the stage.

"Now, for our main event: Spend a day with our geisha Sakura! Starting at 5000 yen."

Sakura froze.

What?!

"6000…8000…9000…!"

The pink head flashed a brilliant smile at the throng of people, turning her head for all to see.

Then she tilted her face toward Kurenai, still bearing that dazzling smile.

"_What are you doing?!_" Sakura whisper-yelled through clenched teeth, her face still plastered with the forced smile.

"10000…12000…_just go along with it_…" Kurenai smiled back as she continued to raise the stakes.

The young geisha gathered her hands into balls.

_Why I outta…_

"14000…15000…!"

Kankuro glanced down into his purse.

_Geeze, this girl is expensive._

The man sighed as he snapped his wallet close.

_Oh well, I didn't come here to spend a day with the girl. My mission was to simply locate her._

Peering around, and seeing that no one was paying him any attention, he melted into the shadows.

"18000…20000…21000…!" Kurenai continued to call out.

"50000!"

The room simmered down.

_Did someone just say 50000 yen?_

Sakura couldn't help but smile to herself.

_I'm expensive._

"…Uh…yes, 50000 yen! Going once, going twice…and sold! To the gentleman in the blue!"

The room clapped respectfully for this man, while Sakura smiled ever so sweetly towards the stranger.

He seemed to be a businessman of some sort, clad in a navy blue suit.

"Please handle her with care, milord, for she is still an inexperienced maiko." The head mistress teased.

The men chuckled at this statement, while the businessman called back.

"I'll be sure to teach her a few tricks."

More laughs, while Sakura conjured up another blush.

_Blushing is getting tiring…_

Kurenai cleared her throat, urging the young geisha to leave the stage.

The pink head glanced back anxiously.

"Kurenai…"

The woman squeezed the girl's arm.

"Don't worry, Sakura." Then she winked. "I'm not selling your virginity to something as low as 50000 yen."

The girl sweat dropped.

"Was that supposed to comfort me?"

Kurenai laughed haughtily.

"Like I said Sakura. No worries. You are only spending the day with this man, not the night. Now go! Your customer is waiting!"

xoxox

"I'm having a lovely time with you, Tai-kun!" Sakura replied as their day had finally come to an end.

It was almost nightfall now; the dawning sun stroked orange and red, painting the clouds purple around it.

"Likewise." Tai nodded respectfully as they strolled around the courtyard.

To tell the truth, Sakura really did have a good time with this man.

He was courteous, well-mannered, and had a great sense of humour.

But even so, the geisha wanted to leave as soon as possible.

She wanted to see Gaara…she hadn't been able to see him for the entire day.

"We should do this again someday." The pink head chirped as she turned toward the geisha house.

But a hand stopped her as it pulled her back around.

"No, wait." The man urged in a surprisingly soothing voice. "I want to check out the stables. Escort me there?"

Sakura hesitated.

Why in the world would he want to see the stables?

But…he was a paying customer, and paying customers get what they paid for.

"Alright," The geisha piped, feigning false glee, as she led the way. "But promise me that this'll be the last thing we do. This geisha needs her beauty sleep."

"Oh, don't worry about that." The businessman purred.

Something about the way he said that just made her want to…shiver.

But she bit it down, knowing that it would be rude to do something like that.

They arrived at the stables.

It wasn't anything special, just a regular stall-full-of-hay stable.

"Well…this is it…"

Sakura was getting a bad feeling about this.

She's just realized how very alone they were.

"You know," The man breathed. "You're a very beautiful girl…"

The man rubbed her shoulders, grazing his face into her hair while he was at it.

Sakura's heart soared.

_Oh…my…_

The girl whipped around, smiling hastily, as she tried backing away from the man.

"T-Thank you, Tai-kun. But I should really get going now…"

Sakura had backed up into the wall.

No where to go.

No where to hide.

A sudden wave of helplessness hit her.

The man's lips curled up into a dark grin.

"Why the hurry? Stay…"

He closed the distance between them, raising his hands to stroke the geisha's cheek.

The girl flinched inwardly at this gesture, but kept on a stern looking face.

"Tai-kun, please." The girl was going straight to the point. "When I'm up for sale, you can buy me and take me."

The man simply chuckled as he brought her hair up and relished in its scent.

"You just don't get it, do you?"

Sakura gulped.

"A geisha like you will cost me a fortune. So why not just take you here and now, for the petty price of 50000 yen…?"

He bent down then, aiming for the girl's lips.

Sakura pushed the man away and tried sidestepping away from him.

_The entrance to the stables is right there, if I could just make it out to the open…_

But the man simply yanked the girl back and forcefully slammed her into the wall.

The girl struggled to break free from the man's iron-tight grip, but the more she resisted, the tighter his grip grew.

The man forced his lips onto Sakura's, whose lips had reduced itself to a thin, tight line.

The ripping of fabric was heard.

Sakura panicked; and somehow she managed to break free from his grasp. But instead of fleeing, the girl turned toward the man and slapped him full in the face.

Big mistake.

"Behave! You little Whore!" The man hissed darkly.

He twisted Sakura's arms back and pressed his weight upon her.

"Stop it!" The geisha pleaded lamely. "You're hurting me!"

All of her appeals deemed useless against this man as he continued to carry out this horrific deed.

The girl whimpered.

He was so strong.

So strong…

She wanted to scream so badly, but her throat seemed to have abandoned her. And her heart felt like it would burst any second.

Tears fell freely from her eyes until her vision blurred and she could no longer see.

She didn't want to see.

The man chuckled.

It seemed everything was going his way.

That's when it happened.

He felt a hand latch itself on his shoulder and he looked back, a startled expression on his face.

Sakura felt the weight upon her lift for a moment, and the grip on her arms slacken.

Then she heard a choked yelp as the man flew across the floor, landing with a harsh thump.

The geisha hardly had time to register what had happened, all she knew right now was that her kimono was ripped and was slipping off her shoulders.

So she gathered the fabric around her with bruised arms and gazed over at the fallen man, trying not to buckle underneath her shaky knees.

There he lay, splayed across the dirt floor, a red-and-purple imprint marked his cheek and right eye. His nose was bleeding profusely.

Sakura turned toward the shadow that stood near the entrance.

Gaara.

There he stood, venom seeping through his eyes direct at the unconscious man, his knuckles slightly discoloured.

The girl could've laughed with joy, and she was about to, but then Gaara turned towards her, and she flinched outwardly.

His eyes were so angry…so livid with fury.

The girl couldn't help but shrink.

Why was Gaara so angry at her?

But before she could do anything, the redhead clasped her hand and dragged her out of the sickening stables, not sparing one glance behind him.

Outside, the waning sunset peeked some of its orange rays over the roof tops, making the courtyard alive with shadows.

Sakura was dragged all the way across the open space by a certain redhead toward the storage cabin.

He pushed open the wooden doors, and was greeted with open shelves stacked with salted meat and clay pots.

A solitary window lit the entire space ablaze with yellow and red.

Then the redhead stopped, allowing the door to slam behind them.

Sakura tried to calm her ragged breathing, but that only resulted in a fit of hiccups.

"Hic. Hic. Hic."

Gaara half-turned toward the young geisha, his expression hesitant.

The pink-haired girl covered her mouth in an attempt to smother the annoying little sounds, but that only seemed to make it angrier as it progressed in both tempo and dynamic.

"Hic, hic. Hic, hic. Hic."

Then there was silence.

Sakura sighed, grateful for the departure of the hiccups.

But of course…

"Hic, hic."

Sakura groaned, when is this torture going to end?

But what irritated the girl seemed to amuse the redhead, for he allowed a soft chuckle to pass by his lips.

"One can never stay mad at you, Sakura." He chuckled again as he shook his head lightly.

The geisha couldn't help but blush, this time for real.

Gaara's previous look melted into distress as he turned fully to examine the girl's arms.

The geisha realized that he was still holding her hand.

Sakura's blush bloomed into a full-blown flush as she fidgeted awkwardly.

The redhead either didn't notice or was not heeding it completely.

"That bastard…" Gaara inspected Sakura's arm, brushing it softly with the back of his fingers.

"I should've been there sooner…"

Sakura's heart crushed at that statement. Was he blaming himself for what happened?

"Gaara," The geisha peered up at the redhead with intense eyes. "Don't. You were there, and that's all that matters. If you hadn't been there at all…"

The girl trailed off, unable to tread back to those dark waters.

Then silence claimed the pair. But it wasn't an awkward silence or anything of that sort. It was a very calming silence. Just like that saying: It's not the words that create the understanding, but the silence.

Gaara spoke then, he voice calm and soothing.

"We'll have to start your training soon," He cleared his throat then, gazing into the eyes of the geisha comfortably. "You'll have to learn how to control Takeru, and of course, how to defend yourself. I won't be here to protect you all the time, after all."

Sakura blinked. That last statement startled her to no end.

"Why not?"

The geisha mentally slapped herself.

Why not? Why not?! Why did I ask that? Of course Gaara won't always be around.

With that final thought, the girl was not only persuaded, but also disheartened. So Sakura looked at her feet, and smiled nervously.

"N-never mind. I don't know why I said that…"

The girl felt the redhead hesitate.

But soon after, he placed a comforting hand on Sakura's pink tresses, gazing down with a soft smile on his lips.

"I think _I_ know why…"

Looking up, the girl couldn't help but suddenly realize how good-looking this man before her was…those jade-coloured eyes, ruby-red hair, luscious-looking lips…

Sakura was so enticed by Gaara, that she didn't even notice they were inching closer and closer toward each other.

The warm breath that was felt on her cheek was like a signal for the girl to close her eyes…

Close her eyes and enjoy the tenderness of lips against lips…

"Oh!" The wooden door had slammed open in the midst of the pair's trance, and now a flustered geisha stood in the doorway, looking very much like a deer trapped in the headlights.

"I-I'm sorry…I didn't know…Um…" The girl fumbled for words and a means to escape. "I-I'll get the stuff later."

With that, the young girl turned and fled the scene.

Oh, how it must've looked: a beautiful young geisha, kimono torn, in the warm embrace of a redhead.

Sakura groaned as she tried to call the girl back. "N-no! Wait, Come back!"

It was no use. The girl was already nowhere to be seen, and no doubt what she saw would be known to every living soul in the geisha house in less than five minutes.

Sakura groaned again while Gaara chuckled.

"You better go after her. Gossip spreads like wildfire around here."

Turning to face him, the pink-haired geisha saw a glimmer of disappointment in those sea-foam green eyes. But he had nothing to be disappointed about…right?

So sighing, the young geisha pulled her kimono tight around herself and prepared to swim through the vast ocean of appalled girls and of course, the queen fish: Lady Kurenai.

_Which reminds me…_

"Gaara, What are we gonna do about…that man…in the stables…"

The redhead's eyes diminished itself to mere slits, and he tilted his chin upwards slightly.

"You let me worry about him."

Sakura bit her lip. Even though that man tried to do a horrible thing to her, she still couldn't let anything happen to him. The geisha house couldn't afford that.

"Gaara…"

But a gentle look drifted across his face as he opened the door, urging her to step outside.

"Don't worry," Gaara replied, heeding the girl's warning. "I won't do anything to him. I'll talk to Kurenai about it."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you."

With that, the girl stepped out into the now chilly courtyard and headed for the main house.

But before she could even take three steps, something caught her wrist and stopped her.

Turning around, Sakura saw Gaara, looking at anywhere and anything but her.

"Sakura…" He started almost uneasily.

The girl turned fully around. "Yeah?"

After what seemed like an eternity, the redhead finally met the girl's eyes.

"Sakura, I…"

The geisha stood silent, waiting for the next few words to come out. But those words seemed to be caught in the redhead's throat, and try as he might, the words just wouldn't come.

So, admitting defeat, Gaara sighed, letting go of Sakura's captured wrist.

"Never mind."

* * *

**Oh!!  
What was Gaara gonna say?  
I think you know! Hohohoho... I'll let your imagination take over on this one. :)  
Anyways, that was my first rape scene...although he didn't really get anywhere...  
So yeah! I appologize if it seems too amaturistic. T.T''  
That's why I need more reviews to tell me how I can do better!  
See? I get reviews, and you get to read a better story! It's a win-win situation! :D  
Yes yes, you all know the drill.**

**Be a man, DO the right thing!  
(Or a woman, a woman can do the right thing too...I guess...)**

ps: What's a beta?  



	13. Chapter 10

**What can I say? Two months and counting...I appologize.  
To tell you the truth, I was thinking of dropping the story, since I didn't feel like this story was worth the distance.  
But hey! It seems that a few people are still waiting for it, so...**

**HERE I AM!!**

* * *

The entire house reverberated with the appalled cries of a certain woman. But try as they might, the geishas couldn't flee from the dismayed howls, much less calm them. All they could do was cringe as the horrified moans increased to shrilling intensities.

"Ohhh! The horror, the horror! How could this happen to one of my girls? Why, Kami-sama? Why?!"

Sakura resisted the urge to plug her ears and shudder. Instead, she stood forward with a comforting hand in attempt to ease Lady Kurenai's distress.

"C-Come on, Kurenai. It wasn't that bad…"

"Wasn't that bad!" The woman exploded as she twirled around to face the pink-haired geisha. "It wasn't that bad that one of my most talented and yearned for geisha was almost raped, therefore taking her virginity, for the petty price of just 50000 yen? It wasn't that bad?"

The woman collapsed then, with a dramatic flourish, onto a mountain of colourful cushions. Geishas gathered around their flustered headmistress with comforting coos and fanned her with their hands.

Then the lamentations went on and on as the raven-haired woman explained to all the girls gathered in her office how getting raped for a geisha is like losing your arms and legs, thus turning you into a useless stump.

Sakura sighed.

She would've been touched by Kurenai's concern, except her concern wasn't exactly for her health. The woman was just concerned about her merchandise.

And since we were dealing with her next paying load, the woman went to great extremes to make sure that nothing like this would ever happen again. Let's just say that Tai-kun won't be hurrying back to the geisha house any time soon.

"That's it!" Kurenai declared with a sudden firm resolve. "I'm never going to auction Sakura off again!"

"You were planning on doing it _again_?" The young geisha asked skeptically, quirking a questioning brow.

"Well, yes…" The woman started guiltily as she tried to busy herself with her kimono. "But that's another matter entirely. Right now…" Kurenai veered off toward another subject, hoping that she wouldn't have to explain herself.

"Right now, I'm giving you some time off, from attending our costumers I mean. Since you probably need it for…" The headmistress pursed her lips, trying to think of a more vivacious way of saying 'make yourself look pretty after you've almost been raped'.

But luckily, she never had to finish that sentence, for a pale-eyed, dark-haired geisha stumbled in through the mahogany doors, looking almost as flustered, if not more, than the ebony-haired woman.

"La…Lady K-Kurenai." Hinata rasped, clutching onto the door frame as her slim figure trembled from exhaustion…and maybe fear.

Sakura frowned at the sight before her. It looked like Hinata's been running for miles, for she's never seen her in such a state before. The girl's always so composed, so graceful.

It seemed the headmistress thought so too, for she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yes? What is it, Sayuri?"

The dark-haired geisha gulped down her uneven breaths as she stood up straighter, pushing herself off the support of the wooden doorframe.

"Lady Kurenai, I-I need to talk to you."

The woman blinked before she exasperated.

"Then go ahead and talk to me."

Hinata stood there then, as she paled visibly, looking like a mouse trapped in a corner. She scanned the clustered room at the questioning faces, as if searching for an answer.

Then she turned her attention back on the headmistress. The next moment she spoke, her voice carried a strange sense of urgency and secrecy.

"Lady Kurenai, it's about…my customers."

A staring contest proceeded then, between the headmistress and the black-haired geisha. Sakura tried to tap down her rising curiosity and anxiousness. What was Hinata talking about?

The atmosphere in the room became stifling, even though everyone was motionless.

Then Kurenai's eyes widened.

"Everyone, out." The steely instruction invited no protests as the woman's eyes never left the unwavering pale ones.

With that said, the geishas silently filed out of the room, brushing past Hinata with probing glances and soft murmurs. What in the world was going on?

Sakura was the last to leave, partly because she was the farthest inside the office, and partly because she wanted to catch a snippet of the words that will pass between the two dark-haired geishas.

Silently, Sakura closed the mahogany door behind her. But she never left from her spot as she plastered her ear against the wooden structure, straining with all her might to hear.

The first thing she heard was rustling fabric.

Then the whispered, unmistakably firmvoice of Kurenai drifted through the door.

"Now tell me, what's happened?"

More ruffling was heard, making it even harder for Sakura to decipher the gentle murmurs of Hinata.

The pink head hissed under her breath. What were they talking about?

Suddenly, a fleeting though flew through Sakura's mind.

_Curiosity killed the cat._

Just as soon as the thought came, it went. Leaving the young geisha feeling rather unsettled.

_Nothing would happen to me…I'm just curious to hear what Hinata has to say about her customers. _The girl convinced herself as she pressed harder against the frame.

But to her dismay, even more indistinguishable words reached her. The girl let out a huff of frustrated breath.

Sakura wasn't usually this nosy, but this wasn't the first time Hinata has acted in such a strange manner on behalf of her 'customers'.

The first time Sakura noticed her strange behavior was when she was going to visit Gaara for the first time in the infirmary. Kurenai had pulled Hinata aside to talk about her 'customers at the teahouse'.

At first, Sakura had dismissed it as nothing more than a common thing that happens with geishas. But as she gradually grew used to the geisha way of life, she couldn't help but notice how often Hinata or Kurenai had to talk to each other about her 'customers'.

More rustling was heard. And Sakura was about to give up and go, accepting the fact that this was a total waste of time, when she heard it.

"You'll have to go tonight then, right on through the forest. I'll make sure no one stops you."

That was Kurenai's voice, Sakura confirmed.

"But what if the night patrols find me? They'll definitely be suspicious about what I'm carrying."

The nervous tremor definitely belonged to Hinata.

"I'm sure they'll have gotten to you by then." Kurenai reassured.

Sakura frowned. Who were'they'? The night patrols? And who the heck were the night patrols?

"Sakura?"

The young geisha froze.

Ok, either Kurenai was really a man and she just let her voice drop, or there was a man standing right behind her.

Sakura turned her head cautiously, peeping over her shoulders.

Gaara stood there, bearing a questioning expression.

"What are you doing?"

The girl winced as she realized how loud Gaara's voice must be compared to her previous stealthy silence.

_My cover's blown!_

No sooner did she think that, did she hear approaching footsteps on the other side of the door.

Left with no time to explain, Sakura snatched the redhead's hand and towed himdown the hallway.

Just as the mahogany door swung open, the pair turned the corner, squeezing themselves into the shadows.

Gaara obviously had no idea what was going on. But he was smart enough not to protest as he silently followed the geisha's lead in hiding away in the dark.

Sakura heard a few more murmured words, then the sound of retreating footsteps, followed by the soft 'click' of the closing door.

The girl released the breath she didn't know she had been holding, and then looked to the soundless figure to her left.

"What's going on?" The redhead whispered, his warm breath falling upon Sakura's face.

The girl blinked. If she could feel Gaara's breath, just exactly how close where they standing? Sakura couldn't tell in the shadows, for her eyes still hadn't adjusted to the dark.

So instead of voicing out her question, she reached out a hand to determine the distance.

It didn't take long for her hand to reach the figure beside her. In fact, the moment she had lifted her hand, it brushed against the redhead's body. And now, her hand perched itself on his shoulder, wondering what it should do next.

Gaara's body had stiffened visibly under this sudden contact, but he made no move to brush off Sakura's hand.

"I was eavesdropping," The geisha explained as she tried to pinpoint where the redhead's face was. "I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but what I heard…" The girl trailed off.

"Turned out to be something that shouldn't have been heard." The redhead finished.

Sakura nodded as she slipped her hand away. Even though she didn't understand what the girls were talking about, she still managed to catch the impression that this topic was a taboo one.

Gaara remained silent for a moment, as if deep in thought. Then he cleared his throat.

"Well, we should be going." The shuffling of feet was heard, and the next thing Sakura saw was the dark silhouette of the redhead stepping out of the shadows.

"It's about time you were trained anyways."

xoxox

"So let me get this straight," Sakura started as she tied her lengthy hair back into a pony-tail. "I'm supposed to stand here, in the centre of the courtyard, where everyone can pretty much see me, and snap my fingers until a spark of fire comes out?"

The young geisha stared at the redhead unbelievingly as she perched her hands on her hips. Then she started sarcastically.

"Why not have me juggle and walk on water while we're at it?"

Gaara simply smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a crimson-painted pillar.

"Don't think you can do it?" He teased.

Sakura gave him a pointed look.

"I can stand here until I grow _a beard_, and I will not make a spark between my fingers."

Uncrossing his arms, Gaara strode over to the young geisha until she had to tilt her head up to see his face.

"Then I suggest you get started."

Sakura blinked. Being at this close a proximity with the redhead did wonders to her rational thinking. So, instead of trying to unravel her jumbled thoughts, the girl decided to give snapping a try.

After taking a steadying breath, Sakura brought her fingers together and snapped.

The only thing the snap produced was the sound.

The geisha tried again, this time harder. But that only created a louder snap as well as sore fingers.

Sakura frowned. This was _so_ not working.

The girl was about to peer up at the redhead to complain, when she realized that he was no longer standing over her. In fact, he was now stationed behind her, his warmth radiating onto Sakura's thin kimono.

The pink-haired geisha resisted the urge to press her body back into the redhead to receive his full warmth. Instead, she stood frozen, her back feeling odd tingles that danced up and down her body from the anticipation of the touch.

Gaara's cheek had found itself over the geisha's ear, making pink and red mix together in strands of hairy mess.

"Remember," Gaara began, his lips nearly brushing the tip of Sakura's ear. And every syllable the redhead pronounced resulted in a wave of lightheadedness that coursed through the geisha's body. She felt like she was going to float off into the clouds with the amount of giddiness she was feeling right now.

Sounds passed from Gaara's mouth, but Sakura had absolutely no idea what they were. Right now, her senses were completely zoned in on the brief touches the redhead was giving her. Still, the geisha could make out that his voice sounded soft and kind, yet the way his hot breath wrapped over Sakura's ear told a totally different thing.

"…you're dealing with fire here. So you have to embrace the fire, become the fire."

Sakura managed to stifle a shocked gasp when her senses detected another movement, this time at her waist.

Gaara had closed what small distance there was between them and braced the geisha's back against his warm front. He let his hands find their way along her slim waist, until he rested them on her upper abdomen.

"Breath from here," The redhead instructed, clearly oblivious to the effect he was having on the geisha.

So Sakura gulped, having no strength to nod, and prepared to carry out what Gaara had told her to do.

The girl brought her fingers up, breathed, and then snapped.

Nothing other than the sound came out.

Sakura's head swam once more as she felt Gaara's hands reposition themselves.

Now the redhead's right hand enveloped the girl's hand from the back, while the left remained where it was. The contact of bare flesh against flesh brought Sakura's senses to new, unexplored heights. She never thought that she could be so attuned to another person's presence before. And yet, there she was, feeling every curve and point where Gaara's hand met hers.

It seemed the redhead also felt the same way, for he continued to stare at their intertwined hands, his expression slightly dazed and surprised.

The warmth had gathered inside their hands when Gaara finally blinked away from his trance. He composed himself with a small smile as he turned his attention back on Sakura.

"Like this," He brought the girl's hand up, preparing her for what's to come.

It was at that moment Sakura realized how safe and at peace she felt. Sure she felt like she was going to faint any second, but she also felt as if she belonged there, safely secured in the arms of the redhead, his face hanging just a breath away from _her_ face.

"Fire is a living thing," Gaara continued. "It needs air to be able to live and thrive, just like any other living being. That's why you need to provide it with as much oxygen as you can."

The redhead let their bodies sway gently, imitating what he was trying to say through actions.

"Allow the fire to flow through you," Gaara then grasped Sakura's left hand, which had been dangling on her side, and brought it up to where her beating heart was.

Pressing his own hand upon the geisha's, the redhead smiled. "From here." Then he squeezed the hand he had been holding in his right. "To here." Resting his eyes on the green ones, Gaara smiled again to see if she understood.

Sakura barely heard a word, for she had been too preoccupied with the frightened idea that Gaara could feel her racing heart.

"Sakura?" The redhead tilted his head. He couldn't quite read the expression on the girl's face. It was a mix of embarrassment and guilt. Why in the world would she be having those kinds of emotions now?

The pink haired geisha shook away her previous thought upon hearing her name, and nodded almost a bit too eagerly at the redhead.

"I think I get it," The girl lied; anything to stop the rising blush to completely take over her carefully composed face.

But truth to be told, she did understand. She might not have heard every single advice that came out from Gaara's soft, luscious, kissable…ahem, hislips, but she had heard enough to understand what she had to do.

So turning her newly discovered attention away from the redhead, Sakura focused all her energy on the solitary task of bringing a spark to her fingers.

Pressing her hand harder upon her thumping heart, the girl tried to imagine that instead of it pumping out blood, it was pumping out fire. Sakura breathed in deeply and imagined the fire coursing throughout her veins and body. Finally, for the final task, the pink haired geisha closed her eyes and urged her fire to gather in her fingers.

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but she could swear that her fingers had suddenly climbed in temperature.

_This is it,_ Sakura thought. _It's now or never!_

The geisha opened her eyes and let out a resolute breath of air as she snapped her fingers with newfound determination.

And there, right before her eyes, a bud of orange sparked into existence and was gone as soon as it came, leaving behind a thin line of white smoke trailing from Sakura's finger.

The girl's face lit up with thrilled amazement at her task, only to be quickly taken over by _pained_ amazement.

Sakura turned her head to face the redhead, while bringing her soot-covered fingers closer to him for inspection.

"I don't know whether to say 'wow', or 'ow'." The girl declared. She had forgotten that whenever fire thrived upon her skin, it would burn her, just like any other fire would.

"Is it going to burn me every time I call upon it?"

Gaara released the geisha then, as his expression was taken over by a thoughtful demeanor.

Sakura never realized how much she had loved the redhead's warmth until he had taken it away. And now the pink haired girl felt like he had taken away a piece of her, leaving her feeling rather frail and lonely.

"You have to learn to trust it," He declared, turning his thoughtful gaze on Sakura. "If you don't trust it, then it obviously won't trust you."

The geisha grimaced as she brought her soot-covered fingers closer for assessment; easier said than done.

"Come on," The redhead urged as he turned away, heading toward the main geisha house.

"We've got some more training to do."

Sakura was about to follow the redhead, when a strange feeling upon her right hand stopped her.

The slight stinging in her fingers from her fire-conjuring was still there, but she also felt something else, something that tingled all over her hand.

Using her other hand to rub her right, Sakura tried to make the strange feeling go away, but no matter what she did, the warm sensation stayed imprinted into her senses.

That was when the realization hit her. This feeling…is the feeling of Gaara's hand.

Sakura looked up at the redhead's retreating back. It seemed that he was totally unaffected. So sighing, the young geisha quietly trailed after him, trying yet again to rid herself of her odd sensation.

If only the Sakura had looked down at Gaara's hand. If she did, she would've seen that Gaara was very much affected by the same feeling as the geisha.

For no matter how many times the redhead flexed his hand as he walked, the feeing of her touch wouldn't go away. No matter what he did, he could not rid himself of this strange new feeling that now brewed inside him.

xoxox

"Wow! Seriously? I can do that?"

A certain pink haired geisha clapped her hands with glee as she took in all the information Gaara had informed her with.

"I can create fireballs, breath fire, and even teleport to places with fire?" The girl's eyes gleamed as she flashed a happy smile. She felt like such a child.

The pair was currently perched on top of the roof, the same one they had stayed on the night Gaara had awoken. And right now, after a whole day of informative training, the two had finally decided to rest while watching the dawning sunset.

Its rays painted everything in its view with an orange flair, making the world seem alive with fire.

Sakura sighed. After an entire day of talking about fire, she sort of just wanted to sleep, and not think about fire at all.

"Sakura?"

The gentle inquiry of the redhead reached her, and the girl turned her face away from the beautiful red-stroked sun to face him.

"Yeah?"

Gaara's complexion had deemed a golden-touch from the sun, and his flaming red hair gave him the look of a fiery-being from another planet.

After staring at the young geisha for a few moments, the redhead turned back around, his eyes resettling on the setting sun.

"Nothing."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean?"

Gaara looked at the pink haired geisha, before lowering his gaze in an almost nonchalant manner.

"I… just felt like saying your name." Was his reply as their surrounding scenery darkened along with the lowering sun.

"I like how it…rolls off my tongue, I guess…"

Sakura tilted her head as she re-ran the sentence through her head.

"Gaara?"

The redhead looked over. "Hm?"

The young geisha smiled teasingly. "Nothing."

When the redhead frowned, Sakura continued. "I just felt like saying your name."

Then she shrugged. "I like how it rolls off my tongue I guess."

Gaara scoffed. "Do not mock me," He said as he narrowed his eyes and tilted his chin up in a dignified manner. But the corners of his lips tilted up slightly, betraying his mask of emotions.

Sakura laughed as she locked gazes with her feet.

"It's true though," The young geisha started, scratching her nailsalmost embarrassingly as she began. "I _do_ like the way your name roll off my tongue…"

_Along with just about everything else about you._

But of course, the girl kept that thought to herself, hoping that the red blush on her face would be mistaken as the red hue of the sun.

"Sakura?"

The pink haired geisha looked up then, into the sea-foam green eyes of the redhead.

His mouth opened.

What was he gonna say?

"Isn't that your friend? Hinata?" Sakura blinked. What a way to ruin the moment by bringing the ebony-haired girl up. Why were they talking about her again?

"Over there," The redhead nodded in the direction behind Sakura. So the girl turned around, and true enough, below her, and obviously outside the geisha walls, was Hinata. A grey cloak and hood donned her body and head so that the only visible parts of her were the stray strands of her black hair.

Sakura strained her eyes to see.

Hinata was heading into the mountain forest that backed itself up against the southern wall of the geisha house. From what Sakura had heard, there was nothing but a bunch of abandoned tunnels and wild animals in there. What could have possibly possessed Hinata to go in there?

That was when a snippet of her stolen conversation came into mind.

_"You'll have to go tonight then, right on through the forest. I'll make sure no one stops you."_

_That was Kurenai's voice, Sakura confirmed._

_"But what if the night patrols find me? They'll definitely be suspicious about what I'm carrying."_

_The nervous tremor definitely belonged to Hinata._

_"I'm sure they'll have gotten to you by then." Kurenai reassured._

Was this what they were talking about? If so, then Hinata must be in some sort of danger, either from getting lost, getting eaten by animals, or getting caught by these 'night patrols'.

With her mind made up, Sakura turned back around to face the redhead.

"Gaara," The girl called with a frown. "I think Hinata's in trouble."

The young redhead let his pondering gaze drift from the girl in front of him, then to the girl below them.

"And you're basing this on what you heard before, correct?"

Sakura nodded slightly. It still amazed her how quick Gaara was to catching on, and how he always seemed to know exactly what she was thinking or feeling.

A light silence filled the pair as Gaara considered his options. Both of them knew that he was still weak from being poisoned, so if he were to encounter any serious trouble, he wouldn't be able to protect anyone, much less fight back.

But…

The soundless redhead considered the young geisha before him. His logical side pounded against him, telling him to reject this obviously idiotic request. Yet something else, something the man couldn't quite place, told him to do what the girl silently asked of him.

Gaara sighed. What's the worst that could happen?

So with his mind made up, the redhead stood up and treaded lightly across the tiled roof until he reached the edge. But just as he was about to leap off, a slender hand stopped him.

"Gaara," The redhead turned around to see Sakura bearing a soft expression, yet that softness didn't reach her eyes. Instead, a hard sliver of defiance gleamed in its emerald depths. "Take me with you."

xoxox

_Just a little further,_ The black-haired geisha repeated to herself. _Just a little further._

But try as she might to persuade herself that she was almost there, there was just nothing she could do about her pounding heart and rising anxiety. True that she hasn't encountered any dangers yet, but that's what unnerved her so. She should've run into them by now, or maybe they didn't get her message, or maybe…

Hinata shook her head. She refused to think about the alternative, nothing would happen to them, and nothing would happen to her.

The young girl pulled her cloak more tightly around her slender form, cradling the carefully wrapped bundle in her arms.

Not only was it getting steadily colder now, but it was getting harder and harder to see as well, since the sun was beginning to hide below the rolling hills. Poor Hinata shivered with fear as a nearby owl hooted it's 'good morning'. Even the simplest of sounds was scaring her now.

More noises echoed throughout the dark, navy-green trees as the young geisha's feet scrambled over dirt and gravel the colour of her eyes.A slight mist was drifting about now, wrapping around the trees as if they were water, bending around boulders.

A sudden crack jolted the young girl as she whipped around, her eyes frantically searching the forest. She couldn't see anything, anything at all…but that doesn't mean that they're not there.

Hinata jerked back around, accelerating her steps as she gripped the bundle even tighter in her arms. She couldn't let them get their hands on this, not in a million years.

Another crack exploded its way through the forest, bouncing off the trees as if they had a mind of their own. The young geisha couldn't help it anymore.

With tightly held back tears brimming her eyes, Hinata burst into a sprinting frenzy, no longer worrying about concealing her location or making as little noise as possible.

_Just a little further, just a little further. _Hinata panted as she scrambled, practically on all fours, up a slanted hill. Then, what she had been running away from, what she had feared, materialized all around her.

Dark men, bearing the special forehead protector of the Night Patrols around their forearms, circled the geisha, flashing their kunais in an attemptto scare the girl.

Oh, she was scared alright. But that didn't stop her from trying to break the circle. As she finally reached the top, the young geisha attempted to charge head on through the men. But as the girl did so, the ninjas lashed their kunais at her, aiming just to miss.

One of the sharp daggers grazed Hinata on her thigh, causing her to tumble to her side. The girl breathed in ragged breaths as she pressed the bundle against her body, unable to stop her tears from overflowing down her cheeks.

The young geisha searched the faceless masks of the ninjas, hoping that one of them would spare her and show her a little mercy. But she knew deep down, that that would never happen.

One of the dark men stood forward, sheathing his kunai in his belt. "Give us the bundle, and we'll spare your life."

Such sincere words.

Hinata clenched her fingers with anger. How can someone lie through their teeth like that? Without any emotion whatsoever?

"Over my dead body." This statement would've sounded defiant and rebellious where it not for the slight tremor that escaped Hinata's lips.

The figures stood silent for a fraction of a second, before the one who had stepped forward reached for his dagger once more.

"As you wish." Was his hushed reply.

He strode forward silently and swiftly, bending down just inches away from the young girl's face. Poor Hinata couldn't even move as she lay on her side, trembling.

Then the man roughly yanked the girl's dark tresses back, exposing the milky-white flesh of her neck. Slapping the flat of the kunai against her bare skin, the man waited, toying with the fear-stricken girl.

"Is this bundle really worth the life of a beautiful, young girl?" He purred, sliding the cold blade along Hinata's neck. The geisha wanted to scream, to run, and to hide from this place. But she could feel in her heart that this was where she would die.

Choking out tears, Hinata wanted to say something, one last thing to throw in the face of death. But fear had wrung her words dry, and now she laid there, her lips cracked from the cold, her uneven breaths coming out in white puffs.

"I guess it is then." The man answered his own question, and then flipped the kunai so its clean, sharp edges rested on the girl's bare neck instead. Without any words of condolences, the dark ninja lifted the dagger a mere breath away from the exposed skin just before he slashed horizontally across the delicate neck.

Before anyone even knew what was going on, the blade of the kunai shattered into a million pieces as it grazed across Hinata's neck. Its broken shards brushed harmlessly away from the girl.

The man stumbled back, still holding the bladeless-hilt of the kunai, stunned that such an event like this could happen.

"Wha…What did you do?" The ninja breathed. How was it possible that the blade would just shatter like that for no reason, leaving the girl unharmed?

"She didn't do anything,"

A redhead and pink-haired girl had leapt down that very moment from the treetops, landing between the now fainted Hinata and the group of ninjas.

"I did." Declared the redhead, throwing a death glare to all the darkly-dressed ninjas.

Sakura had already gone to the aid of Hinata, crouching down with a worried expression, examining the girl's delicate skin. But seeing that the girl was not harmed, except for that cut on her leg, the pink-haired geisha turned on the group of men.

"Who are you? And what do you want from Hinata?" The young geisha demanded.

Recomposing himself, the man who had gone in for the kill chuckled and threw the now-useless kunai on the ground.

"Not before you tell me how you did that," The man rebutted, pointing his chin in the direction of the worthless weapon on the soil.

Gaara remained silent. He would have to be extremely dumb in order to reveal how he managed to splinter the blade from afar. It was quite simple actually, if you knew the redhead's secret that is.

Being the host of the Earth god, you become capable of moving the earth, recreating the earth, and transforming the earth. Seeing how metal, which is the element the blade was forged in, comes from the earth, shattering that thin piece of steel was no problem for him.

But…Sakura glanced briefly at the redhead standing before her. Gaara has to be very careful of not overdoing it, since he is still weakened from the poison. However, seeing this herd of men dressed in black around them…she wasn't sure if 'not overdoing it' was an option.

Sensing that no one was going to offer him any answers, the dark ninja grunted in displeasure, then swiftly reached for the twin kantana worn on his back, which had been cleverly hidden in the folds of his costume.

"Well then, if you're not going to tell me anything, you're automatically useless." With that, as if on cue, the band of men clustered together, like an invisible string had drawn them toward each other, and then in perfect sync, the men flew through the exact same combination of hand signs.

Even if her eyes could keep up with the movements, Sakura still wouldn't understand what the hand signs meant. But she didn't have to wait long to find out what the result would bring.

There before them, towering over the trees and erasing the moon, grew a long, moaning shadow. It took a lifeless form with the figure of a man, though its torso was greatly stretched, with stringy hands that hanged about itself as if it were useless. The only adornment that etched this being's face were two, unblinking yellow lights. It had no name, and it had no mind of its own. The only substance that it fed on was the dark fear of others.

It moaned a long and hampered melody, before its legs, which were intertwined with the black chakra that oozed unnaturally out of the black men, preceded to move sluggishly toward the youths.

Gaara and Sakura were both stunned speechless. They did not know how to act around a foreign enemy such as this. How does one strike shadow and defeat it? How does one chase it away?

Immediately the thought of light came to mind. But Gaara was not capable of producing such a feat, nor did he know if mere light was able to renounce this rival.

Before any of them could make a move, the shadow-man forcibly ripped open a gaping hole on his body, tearing and clawing at it with his bony hands. This action not only confused Sakura, but brought about a kind of pity for the creature. For the shadow-man howled and shrieked in pain as it tore itself apart. His wailing grew more fevered as the bottomless pit in his belly grew wider, deeper. Such tortuous sounds this creature was making, that even the birds weren't free to fly away from this death song.

Finally, Gaara gasped. He understood what these men were forcing the shadow to do.

It was realized all too late however, for by now, the shadow that clung to the redhead's feet wavered, as if an invisible breeze were blowing upon it, then it lifted from its earthy home, only to intertwine itself around Gaara's legs, trapping him to where he stood.

"Sakura! Run!" The redhead shouted once he realized what was happening. He was now barely even capable of turning his head, for his shadow had climbed across his body and twisted around his neck.

The pink-haired geisha gasped as she twisted around, looking desperately at her own shadow, fearful for the same fate to fall upon her.

But her shadow never moved. Instead, the young girl heard a piercing wail that rose higher than ever from the dark-monster. This time, darkness shook…literally.

Anywhere there was a shadow, it quivered an under unseen wind and rose up to join the air. All the shadows, that is, except for Sakura's.

The geisha stumbled back, eyes rounding in awe and dread as the shadows became sashes of darkness, slithering its way toward its victim.

Left with no time to spare, Sakura turned to Hinata, ready to heave the petite girl over her shoulders and run.

But it wasn't the sight of a fainted girl that greeted her. Instead, the sight of dark, formless hands consuming Hinata met Sakura's eyes, accompanied by the sound of the girl's body being dragged even further into the obscurity.

Panic welled up inside Sakura's throat and fear clasped its grip around her heart. _Don't take Hinata, please…don't take Hinata__**.**_

Sakura lurched toward the girl, frantically reaching for the black-haired girl's hand, feet, anything.

And what do you feel when you touch shadow? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That was exactly what Sakura found under her hands as Hinata dissolved from view.

Tears sprang to the pink head's eyes. Her friend is gone? Just like that?

Behind her she heard the sound of flesh sizzling, soon followed by the agonized cry of a redhead.

_My redhead._

Sakura whipped around to find Gaara's shadow squeezing the life out of him, at the same time; it burned away parts of his flesh.

Trails of sand trickled down from the redhead's body. No doubt it was his protective sand barrier. But how much more could he take of this?

"S-Stop it!" Sakura stepped forward, now oblivious to the dark snakes that circled the air around her, hissing venomous threats toward her.

But the huddled men paid no heed to the pleading girl. In fact, they paid no heed to anything except for the task at hand. Right now, with the black chakra that seeped through their bodies, they barely even looked human.

So Sakura turned her cries to the towering monster, whose cries had now lessened into low, wallowing moans that vibrated deep within Sakura's chest.

"Please!" The geisha sobbed, her tears draining out of her eyes.

The monster tilted its head to the side, and kept on going until it was practically bent parallel to its own body. Its eyes never left the girl's face.

"Please! You don't understand!" Sakura choked out the last of her words. "He'll die!"

But the shadow didn't understand. How could it? How could something like that understand anything about love?

Finally, as if it were tired of waiting, the shadow sashes that circled the air attacked, jabbing with all their might, intending to pierce her delicate skin as if it were made of rice paper.

No time to think, no time to think.

_Please…let him live…_

It was as if the shadows had triggered the wrong button on Sakura's body. For the moment the dark snakes touched the geisha's pale skin, an eruption of sheer light burst from Sakura's body, obliterating the streams of darkness that reached for her. The rest of the shadows screeched from invisible mouths and scattered as quickly as fish do when something frightens them.

A booming sound entered Sakura's mind and blasted its full and thriving voice against the walls of her consciousness.

_Seriously Honey, Where would you be without me?_

* * *

**Strange...I could've sworn that was a RAISIN cookie...**


End file.
